


Bain

by Coff_eka



Category: Trylle Series - Amanda Hocking
Genre: Bain - Freeform, Bain Tove, BainxTove, Book - Freeform, Fanfiction, M/M, Romance, Smut, Tove Kroner - Freeform, Trolls, amanda hocking - Freeform, m/m - Freeform, trylle trilogy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-04
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-07-29 09:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 29,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7678510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coff_eka/pseuds/Coff_eka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tove knew he was different. His powers, his looks and his personal life. Everything was so different about him. Except one thing. He wanted the same thing as anyone else; love. But can he get it? Before he runs out of time and lose his mind? Or will someone special jump into his world and turn it upside down?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prequel

Tove was overwhelmed. With emotions, fears and most importantly the heavy weight of responsibility he was about to get himself into. He was aware since his eighteenth birthday, when his parents sent Finn after him, that his life wouldn't be easy. 

He's always been a quite disturbed child. His host parents never understood why can't he just stay focused for more than fifteen minutes. He heard his host parents talking about how he had the attention spam of a 5 years old. He has been working pretty hard ever since to improve it but sometimes he just cannot help it. The auras, the colors, the emotions. It's just too much. That's when he started moving things around. That terrified his host parents. They had thought that the house was haunted by some ancient ghost seeking revenge on the living. They were odd people but their wealth was outstanding so the Kroner family didn't care about that. 

When he arrived in Förening he felt something about this place. The people he met were naturally beautiful on the outside but on the inside... They were so different than anyone he has ever met. The colors and the thoughts were bright and loud, at first the emotion waves coming from his own parents knocked him out for hours. Before he could meet them properly he had to move the furnitures around in his room so he would be least sensitive. His parents, the real ones, seemed to love him which made him kind of happy. He never really had love in his life. Which he didn't mind until the point he started his new life and Finn taught him how to behave, what is the proper way to talk, eat, walk and dress. The tracker lectured Tove about his place in the Trylle society. How he's one of the most powerful Markis'. He showed him places he would have never visited without Finn. And he ever so slowly developed a crush on him. A tiny-little one and it did not worry him. Because his emotions were messed up and he couldn't straightened them out. Not without a week of house redecorating with his mind. 

He was in a huge dilemma. He kind of knew he was attracted to boys but never really thought about it. He didn't think he could focus on solving his sexual orientation for more than 10 minutes without being affected by the surroundings and losing the tracks. That's why during a peaceful afternoon he decided on doing something about it so he called Finn. The black haired boy was free so they met. Tove asked a few questions from him about love and feelings and even though Finn was caught off guard by that sudden curiosity about feelings he gladly answered and then, like it was not a big deal. Tove said.

"I think I might be gay." 

Ever since Finn and Tove were good friends. They were close, very close. But not in the way you'd think. It was the purest friendship and Tove was well-aware of that. Of course he was. He could see how Finn's aura was always that deep brown around him while he was with Tove. He had such a strange aura. Always so light brown. Like the sand on the beach. Calm, but so much hidden treasure under the forced peace. The younger boy has always wondered why did Finn kept so many secrets and pain inside him but he's never mentioned it. 

And suddenly, out of nowhere , came a girl with this strong aura and moved to the palace. Tove was interested in her. She was different than anyone else he had met during his years in the capital. Powerful, full of passion and hidden wrath. The girl was amusing. Tove liked her instantly. Wendy's thoughts were loud and her aura was a mess with different colors spread out on it. She had much to learn and Tove was willing to help. Even if it was torture for him to stay in the palace for the study sessions. The Queen's thoughts kept distracting him from the tasks. The dark thoughts made him worried and lose control. The young man tried and tried teaching more and more to Wendy because he had to. He was afraid what might happen if the thoughts and little whispers were true and the Queen hadn't had much time left. They can't let the Trylle being led by an untrained leader. 

Wendy learned, matured and made Tove proud. And that very day, he was going to marry her. That's why he was so afraid of everything and moved the whole room upside down. He knew there's gonna be a couple hundred people in the halls and he could have gone crazy just thinking about the crowded place with all those voices and colors. He was not afraid of marriage. He knew that it was necessary for the kingdom. He was willing to sacrifice his freedom. If he even had one before which Tove was not so sure about. Aurora, his mother, always seemed to control him. At least she thought she did but in reality Tove did what he wanted and made his mum believe he's just a doll to play with. But the game still made him busy 24/7 so he didn't have much time to enjoy the moments when he was free. Suddenly there was a knock on the door so he let the bed fall down from the air, making a loud cracking voice as it hit the wooden floor.

"I'm sorry to disturb your peace or whatever you call it" Tove turned around slowly because he thought he might have been hallucinating. It can't be Luke. As he faced the door his heart dropped. He hadn't seen his friend in a long time. They met a year ago in a smaller Trylle town. The blond boy was so flirty, handsome and rebellious that Tove couldn't help himself and fell for him. It was that typical summer love that you forgot right after it happened. Kissing, whispering, giggling and Tove throwing furniture out of the window because he became so frustrated that he just had to. He was mad, furious and nothing could have stopped him. Luke tried it and Tove basically threw him out of the room. If that's what love can do to him he'd rather die than risking his loved ones lifes. But Luke stayed and they were friends. There was no love anymore. Maybe there wasn't any on the first place. The blond had a boyfriend anyways. They were out and the Trylle basically outlawed them. Another reason why he can't just come out of the closet. He had a name and he wanted to help others. He may have been unfocused, disturbed or just strange but he tried to put everyone else before him. That's who he was under the calm appearance he made up for himself.

"Luke! I didn't know you were coming" said Tove with calm tone and walked to his friend and hugged him. His vibrating red aura seemed to be brighter than ever. 

"Give yourself a break from this cold-hearted Trylle culture.I know it suits you but I like the smiley Tovey way better!" Luke pushed him playfully and Tove cracked a smile but couldn't stop worrying and thinking. The tall blond seemed to notice the worried expression so he hugged Tove again and when he let him go asked him with an amused expression.

"So what is that thing about you marrying a GIRL? We all know that you are not into girls. I can prove it, you sucked the life out of my neck a few summers back."Luke laughed and Tove was so embarrassed that he shut the door and pulled the other boy into the room. He was so childish back then. He just wanted to feel love of some kind and Luke seemed to be good for that task. 

"You can't just say things like that. There are people out there who have to believe in me. They expect me to marry a princess and to produce a heir. I am a Markis and a soon-to-be prince" even if he was mad at Luke for being such a noisy boy he decided to stay calm and distance with his tone. Who knows what would happen if he decided to let his emotions take over his actions? Probably not fun stuff.

"Produce a heir! How romantic! What will you do when you can't produce your precious heir? You think you can force yourself to stick your dick into a girl? Because you are wrong about that. I tried and it didn't work. I know you have to do this but I am still against it. There is someone out there waiting for you. And that someone is more than lucky to have you. Just wait for it."

Luke's words moved something in him. Mostly sadness. Not that he's not used to it. He lived in sadness. Not because he wanted to but because his powers wouldn't let him have a good time. If he's having fun with someone he would eventually hear the darkest thoughts of that person. People tend to think about sad stuff more strongly and powerfully than happy things. That's why he didn't talk that much. He heard and see enough to entertain himself.

"Luke, that is not about me. It's about being a good Markis. I am going to marry Wendy because I have to. I love her, not the way you love your wife, but in a friendly way. I can not wait for someone who loves me unconditionally because my family wouldn't let me. So if you came to judge every step I make I suggest you to leave. If you want to support me as my friend, you can stay."

His cold voice freaked out Luke. He did not like that Tove. He changed so much. He behaved like a true titled Trylle. 

"If that is what you want. I'll wait for you downstairs. I bet you'll do great!" he backed out of the room, leaving a emotionally tired Tove in the bedroom.

"Thank you..." Murmured Tove. Deep down he knew Luke was right but he had to do this. 

***

"Are you nervous?" Markis Bain asked Tove while they stood in the room behind the ball room where the ceremony was held. There was only one little chandelier on the ceiling which gave a pale shining to the golden wall decorations. Tove looked at him and nodded not wanting to talk. He always felt strange around him. He was devilishly handsome and had those bright blue eyes which meant he had ancestors from the Skojare tribe. That's pretty amazing to be honest. That was a smaller tribe connected to water stuff. Tove only knew that one thing about them. He never really paid attention to other tribes while Finn tried to teach him. The other thing that was different about Bain is his aura. Usually auras are bright, light colors and change to dark shades when emotions were showing on them. But Bain's was deep blue like the ocean. Tove has never seen it in any other color. Not even a slightly hue change. Not that he met him so many times before except a few occasions.

"Girls like to freak out and babbling about their make-up or their dress. If you want to try it I'm here for you" the older man smiled and Tove suddenly wondered how old is he exactly.

"How old are you, Markis Bain? If you don't mind me asking." Tove tried to be polite with him. Hell, he tried to be respectful with every single person he met because if he wasn't he would just avoid them. 

"I don't mind and call me Bain. Being a Markis does not define me. I'm close to my twenty-second birthday, Prince Tove" Bain answered with a smile and stepped closer to Tove. He frowned at the title.

"Tove. Leave the titles out of question." 

"Well, you are going to marry the princess. No one can take your title away. Not without facing some consequences." The man said and Tove wondered why he felt so nervous around Bain. But he did not want to admit that so he just went along with the little chat.

"I'd rather not marry her but I don't have a choice. As my mum and the Queen said; there is no love in marriage." 

"You're wrong" Bain laughed slightly. Tove looked him in the eye and silently admired the little wrinkles created by his small laugh. But who could blame him? Bain was hot and Tove was not blind but adoring another man on his wedding may not be appropriate. "Marriage is love. I've seen a lot of them and I can assure you; if you marry the right person it will all be about passion and love."

"Right. But... I don't love her" He whispered and looked up at the blue eyed man. Why did he tell him? Maybe the whole furniture moving failed to help and he's losing control again. He thought Bain wouldn't say anything but he surprisingly did.

"I know you have to marry her. But if you want someone who you can talk to... I'll be more than happy to distract you" He offered and there was a strange feeling coming from Bain that Tove couldn't figure out. He couldn't hear his thoughts; his powers were faded and Bain probably hadn't had loud thoughts.

"I'll keep it in mind." Tove felt himself close to Bain. Not in an inappropriate way. They were way much professional for that. He felt like Bain tried to say something with his words. Not that he didn't just say those words but meant something totally different but Tove didn't allow himself to think about that. He needed his full concentration on the wedding ceremony. Bain and him stared at each other for a few minutes then the older boy turned to the old oak table and picked up his book for the ceremony.

"It's time, Tove" He shoot the young one an encouraging smile and led him out of the room. They walked to the front where the two will tie the knot. People noticed their presence and started going quiet. Tove hated how he still could hear the thoughts of these trolls. Silently but it was still there. The whole room was filled with colors for his eyes. He could sense how people went silent but they can't put their thoughts on silent. 

"Hey Tove" Bain whispered and Tove tried to focus on him. "I just wanted to wish you luck. Weddings must be terrible for you."

Tove smiled and brushed his hand through his hair, making sure it looked decent. He could hear his mum screaming in her mind Stop touching your hair, Tove! so he did. Sometimes he wished he inherited his mother's healing powers.

Before he could answer Bain, the door opened and a little girl rushed down the aisle throwing flower petals everywhere. Wendy looked amazing but it was no big news. Most of the trolls were good looking. They are the children of mother nature after all. When she reached Tove they murmured a silent hey to each other. 

But as Tove watched Wendy walking down the aisle, he missed how Markis Bain tried to hide his staring at Tove with pretending to read the lines he already knew by heart.


	2. War Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tove faces some new challenges and for some reason a young and attractive Markis whom he adored takes an interest in him and things get heated in very unexpected ways.

Tove was sitting in the War Room surrounded with the most important people of the whole country, listening to them arguing about the deadly attack on an other city, Oslinna. The Vittra, another tribe, killed many Trylle troll and destroyed loads of buildings. He's been sitting there for a good 15 minutes. He tried his best to not look straight up bored. That's a bad habit of his. It comes with his powers. Then Wendy arrived and he tried to look more like a Prince not like the cool, i-don't-care-about-anything Markis he used to be.

They just had their first night together as newlyweds and it was the most awkward thing that's ever happened to him. Including the fact when he got so nervous during an exam back in his human school that he almost peed himself and before that could happened he rushed out the door and quickly got into the bathroom. When he came out he was standing in the middle of lockers and random stuff scattered around the floor. As it has turned out his power decided to protect him from the urge to pee his pants with turning the whole school corridor upside down. Everyone laughed at him and called him a freak because they thought he went crazy and did the whole vandalism alone with his own hands. Because of that his parents even sent him to an Asylum for a good month. The doctors said he had some strange disease and that's why he was acting up. They even got him medication which didn't help at all and only made his "hearing" more precise. 

Now Wendy and his wedding night was more awkward than that so I guess you can imagine that. They lied next to each other almost naked and went - well at least tried to - sleep. Tove knew he was supposed to have sex with her. But Wendy declined it and Tove couldn't be happier about that. He was not ready for that. Not with a girl and especially not with a guy! He offered to have sex but deep down he was well-aware that it was ridiculous to even think about him having sex with a woman. Maybe Luke was right and he just can't "stick his dick in a girl"...

The Chancellor, that sick bastard, were shouting profanities at Markis Bain, which woke him up from his thoughts about his marriage. Marksinna Laris screamed at Garret and everything was a huge mess. He tried few things to calm them down but all he achieved was close to nothing. Tove saw their auras and everyone was stressed, mad and above everything else they were scared. Some of them had loud thoughts. He could only hear them because they expressed it more than the others. One of the Marksinnas thought about killing herself and that made Tove sad but also kind of angry.

He hated how everyone underestimated him and looked down at him because he was a bit antisocial. They didn't bother to respect his presence. They knew he was the Prince but whenever he tried to say something they replied right away with an answer that proved he was wrong or his idea was not good enough to be discussed. Even though the only idea they had was hiding and running away from the Vittra. The only one who tried to listen to him was Markis Bain. Tove felt like the man was born to be an aristocrat. It just fits him so well. The respect and professionalism he gathered around himself was magical to the younger boy. But he was still pissed that only one person paid attention to him and everyone else just slipped into chaos.

 That's when Wendy and Willa finally arrived in the room with Duncan following behind them. No one seemed to notice the Marksinna and the Princess. Finn was with them too, explaining something that made Willa climb into the table in front of Tove. She wore a short skirt and Tove never understood why couldn't she just wore something longer and more appropriate. She whistled so loudly Tove thought he'd be deaf after that. Duncan helped her off of the desk then Thomas, the chief tracker, explained the attack to Wendy. 

The girl was terrified about the things she heard. The devastated state of Oslinna made her furious. At least two thousand troll got killed on the previous night while her biggest problem was sleeping next to Tove in his shirt because Willa thought it would be funny to steal all of their clothes on their wedding night. Not that she didn't know they had no romantic feelings for each other. She just liked to spice up things. 

During Thomas's explanation Marksinna Laris burst out her worries. Tove found her pathetic. She was being an annoying bitch with all those guesses and prophecies about how everyone's going to die. He was listening to their argument about how to help out the attacked city or as Laris' extremely loud inner self shouted how not to help them. 

Tove avoided speaking because no one really cared what the strange, greenish guy had to say. Even when they knew his complexion and silence meant he was probably the most powerful of them and may be even stronger than the Princess and the Queen themselves everyone deiceded to ignore him. He spat out some words here and there but he got ignored anyways. Than Marksinna Laris said how she thought Wendy is getting herself killed and how she didn't care about that at all. That's when Tove snapped. No one can mess with his friends.

"Marksinna Laris if you say one more word I will have you banished from Förening for your entire life on the ground of treason!

Everyone went silent and for the first time Tove could felt how does it feel being important. Marksinna Laris stammered a bit and asked in confusion. "Tr... Tr... Treason?"

"Under the Treason Act, Article Twelve, anyone who plots or imagines the death of our King or Queen or their eldest child has committed treason."(I'll give the credit for that part to Amanda Hocking because I couldn't rewrite this law)

"But I... I was not serious. I was just..." 

"I believe that I have enough witnesses to prove you're guilty. If you want to live under the protection of the Trylle tribe against the Vittra I advice you to stop going against the Princess and do what you are told." Tove was quite proud of how he handled the situation with calmness and full of confidence. Something he may have practiced for a long time for his own fun but sometimes it was hard to behave like a cold-hearted bitch with anyone who was not close enough to his heart. So being hard on someone without being whiny was an achievement he gladly took credit for.

After he shut down the Marksinna they started to plan the rescue expedition to Oslinna. They needed volunteers for the job. Finn volunteered as Wendy's proxy and for Tove's liaison the Chancellor was selected. He didn't really want to go but Tove's mother refused to go as a healer and the only other Trylle with healing power was him. Markis Bain said he would liked to join them because his sister lived there. Tove reminded himself to ask him about his well-being. He owes him that because of how he acknowledged him during the meeting and for his calming presence before his wedding. He should have seen how Markis... Just Bain. Tove noted that he has to remember to call the man on his name without a title. So, Bain was in a melancholic state on the first place but his aura was that deep blue as usual and that annoyed him so much. 

How can he just... Block Tove out of his aura? How could anyone do that? That's why he couldn't feel the worry from him. Because there was none when it should have been. At least a little bit. He hid it so well not even Tove could've seen it. Which the boy highly doubted. There is no such thing as hiding feelings that well. Even if someone was big at hiding and running from their feelings Tove could saw them on their aura regardless of their mental state. The other explanation was that Bain had powers to shut him out of his mind. But that is impossible. No one ever had a power like that. No one could control other troll's powers. But Tove couldn't sense Bain on any level. Not thoughts, not auras, no nothing. Maybe Tove couldn't even move him if he wanted to. Not hearing him was okay. He only heard loud, expressed thoughts. Some strong enough to make him do something about that thought to make it gone. But from the Markis it was nothing. It's bothered him. It has made him mad. Because he kind of wanted to know Bain's thoughts.

At the end of the meeting there was ten volunteers who were rushed off to pack the needed stuff so Tove decided to talk with Bain later. Tove lingered a bit after the meeting with Wendy, Duncan and Willa. They praised him for stopping Marksinna Laris' rambling. He felt proud once again than he went to help Thomas with calling all the trackers back to Förening. They needed them inside the kingdom not outside collecting changelings. Thomas explained how they were going to call them back. Basically sending them messages and calling them until they answer them. 

Tove talked with several trackers who he's never met. There was a guy who cried after Tove told him the attack. His family belonged there and he probably lost them. The tracker's homes were nowhere as safe as the trolls and even  those got destroyed. Tove actually enjoyed doing this job except how emotionally overwhelming the whole thing was. He had a few hours to have his own emotions and only seeing Thomas' aura and he didn't have to listen to the painful thoughts of the trackers. Their voices were enough though. They were willing to help. Hell, they wanted to destroy the whole Vittra empire. They gladly followed the orders of their new prince which made Tove glad and powerful. 

After an hour or so he decided to leave Thomas alone for a few minutes. He had to talk to Bain before they head off to Oslinna. On his way down to the hall he bumped into Luke. He was munching on something Tove couldn't recognize and as Luke was busy with his food he missed Tove walking by. He had the chance and the Prince took it. Tove approached him and just before he realized Tove was there and flipped the food out of his hands right into the ceiling. Luke had a "what the fuck just happened" look on his face, as Tove used used his powers for the action, than looked up at Tove and gave him a glare.

"I hate you so much Tove" said the blue eyed boy. He looked up sadly at the salad wrap which was now attached to the ceiling. Tove made it fell to the floor and Luke looked at the wrap with disgust.

"Aren't you gonna get that?" laughed the dark haired boy.

"You can have it, Prince Tove." insisted Luke with a smile and a little bow which made Tove smile widely. 

"You know that this is not necessary. I'm still just Tove" Luke's words saddened him. Even if he was joking. He didn't want him to think he had to bow and call him Prince all the time.

"I know. But do you? Because you changed so much my sweet, little Tove." Luke place his hand on Tove's shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes. The Prince looked down. He did change but in his eyes it was a semi-permanent change for the greater good.

"I don't know Luke. I know who I am but right now I have to be someone else for a small amount of time." he tried to explain his thoughts but his words felt powerless against Luke.

"I understand that love but..." Luke wanted to continue but someone cleared their throat behind them. He backed off from Luke as he realized they were way more intimate than they should have been. It was not a big deal for them as they considered themselves best friends. They were calling each other on pet names and hugging each other all the time. But if someone saw them like that it would cause so much trouble. Luke was abandoned so it was risky enough to have him in the palace. 

Fortunately it was Bain. He looked stressed but his aura was still as blue as usual. The man didn't move and just watched the two boys who were rather intimidated under his glance. Tove felt like he committed some kind of crime which was ridiculous considering he was the Prince. He shouldn't have felt like that. Luke turned to him as the tension was getting too much to handle. 

"I think I'll go now. I'm sorry for the things I said last night. You know... The whole stuff. You have the right to do what you want. See ya later, mate!" he rushed off and Tove got excited about being alone with Bain which was silly but he let the feeling sink in. 

"Markis Bain. I wanted to ask you about your sister. Is she okay? Did you hear from her?" Tove tried to avoid the awkward encounter that just happened but Bain decided to talk about it.

"Bain, my Prince. If you want to keep your hardly earned reverence I presume you should stop being seen with banished people in intimate settings." His words cut deeper than Tove thought they would. He knew he didn't have to explain anything but he had to defend himself and Luke. 

"We were not in an intimate setting. He's my best friend I have the right to talk to him and as the Prince I can see banished people." He stated the facts and his inner stubbornness wouldn't let him lose this verbal fight.

"Hmm..." Bain dropped his backpack which landed on the carpet with a silent thump. He stepped a few steps closer which made him about half feet away from Tove. The younger boy looked up at Bain who smiled down at him. He put his hand on Tove's shoulder just like Luke did before. Then the Markis leaned to his ear and whispered.

"Does this feel like intimate to you?"

The youngster swallowed hard and had thousands of emotions running through him. He's never been so close to someone except Luke. Bain's presence drove him insane and it terrified him. He didn't know what to make out of it. He was so lonely that this little intimacy made his insides explode. He tried to breath properly but Bain wouldn't move and he could feel his breath hitting his neck and ear. "If it does you shouldn't be doing it with anyone else" murmured the blue eyed devil. Tove didn't want to call him that but right now he felt like he was some kind of mythical creature from hell. Trying to get him into sin.

He heard something clinking and as soon as the other man heard it he stepped away and smiled slightly. Tove looked up at the crystal chandelier which was shaking dangerously above them. After a moment he realized that he was the one doing it. He let his power slip away from the golden and crystal light. 

"I guess I've got your answer. Now you can get mine. My sister is fine. She was out of town and went back after the hobgoblins left." he went to grab his bag and Tove adored his figure. He was muscular, tall and handsome. His brown hair was little longer but just enough to make a quiff out of it. He zoned out of his thoughts and before the young Markis could left he hurriedly spoke up.

"Why...Why did you just do that? That's not how you should act with a Prince." Tove was disturbed on so many levels but he gathered his strength together. He had to prove the Markis that he is not a hormonal boy who can be played with.

"I can't answer your question until I also have one for you. That's how we play this game." Bain smiled smugly and Tove was not even trying to hide his astonishment. The Markis played some kind of game with him? Why? And when did it start? 

"Are you aware that I can make you answer me? I'm the prince I could make that happen. You can't just play with me" Tove was not going to let him win. He was being disrespectful and... so not him. He was used to the respectful, grave and polite Markis Bain. But that was not Markis Bain. That was "Just Bain" according to the man. Tove was puzzled by his personality change and he kind of liked this Bain. A lot. Even if he didn't really know him.

"Will you make me, Prince Kroner?" Bain used his last name which was strange for a Trylle. They usually put the titles before the first names. It's considered highly diplomatic putting it any other way. He stared at the man who had his backpack on his shoulders.

"I may consider it" said Tove in a hushed tone. He felt Bain studying him then the older one bowed a little and apologized.

"I am sorry my Prince. I did not behave as your estimable Markis. I've probably misunderstood something about your Highness. I beg your forgiveness"

His sudden change made Tove wonder what had snapped in his head. He let it slip because if we are being honest he loved this cheekiness. So much terrible stuff happened that he needed that. 

"That's okay, Bain. I'm just tired and worried about too much stuff. I guess I needed a reminder of who I am."

"Understandable. I'm afraid I have to go if I want to go with the others and not alone. Oh, and if you ever need me to be inappropriate with you again... Just ask me" he added the last sentences with a cheeky smile and left the scene. 

Tove was scattered from the things Bain said in the last 10 minutes. He was flustered. It was hard to process it in the moment. He had all these thoughts in his head about marriage, the trackers, Oslinna, the Vittra and loads of more stuff. Then this Markis came and he couldn't think about anything else just how awesome did it feel to be close to someone. How he could smell Bain's scent lingering in his nose and fuck. He was screwed. 

He avoided anyone else later that day. The group of volunteers left Förening and Thomas had everything under control. He was supposed to gave his first self defense lesson but he cancelled on that too. He was lost in his own little brain. He, who was the best with feelings, didn't know what is going on inside him. He knew he was lonely and alone all his life. Except Luke but he didn't really matter. So having someone who seemed to made a move on him made him all tingly inside and he, for once, felt so normal.

He didn't have feelings for Bain. He was sure of that. He adored him as a Markis and as a handsome human being. But no one supposed to knew that he was gay. He was so lost. Did he just played around with Tove to show him how important it was to behave himself? Well, he'll probably won't go around being close to guys after that. He made a fool of himself in front of a very important Markis. Bain probably tried to warn him on his own way that he should be more like a Prince.

After a long day Tove was glad to have a long shower and a comfortable T-shirt to get into. Wendy was in the shower while he stirred the spoon in his herbal tea. It was supposed to help him with sleeping but he has a bad feeling about this night. He didn't want to go to sleep.

The bathroom's door opened and Wendy stepped out in a green top and a black short. Her hair was wet which explains why she was in the shower for so long. Washing her long, curly hair must be a nightmare. Tove played around with the spoon for a long time while Wendy signed some papers and documents as nightly entertainment. Their marriage was full of excitement and fun. Note the sarcasm.

"Okay Tove, what made you so disturbed? You are stranger than you usually are." Wendy asked and he sighed. He was not sure if Wendy realized what's the matter with him. She was his friend after all. They spent days training and talking about stuff. They were always on the same page and shared opinions on most subject. Tove wouldn't be surprised if Wendy knew he fancied boys.

"I just had a long day. An exhausting one."He put his cup down on the night stand and covered himself into the covers.

"We all had. Did something happened? Do you have someone in Oslinna?" Wendy was worried about Tove. He may seemed bored, cold or just simply rude sometimes but Wendy knew the boy was all about helping others and being there for people. Seeing him playing around with his power meant he was really trying to focus on something. Or was bored but he didn't have time to be bored so Wendy went with the first scenario.  

"Oh, I don't. But Markis Bain has" said Tove and turned to Wendy who crossed her legs and put away her papers.

"Bain? Why are you concerned about his family?" she was at her wits end with this information. Why does he care so much about him? They hardly know each other. At least Wendy has only seen them talking few times. 

"Because he reminded me to be careful" The Princess was sure as hell that the boy went crazy. Her Prince lost his mind. Anything he said didn't make sense. 

"Can you tell me what happened?" Wendy asked. Tove sighed and gave her a briefly explanation about how Bain messed up his mind. He expected Wendy to reprehend him but it didn't happen. She stared at him with this stupid grin and he was confused. Wasn't she suppose to be mad at him because how un-professional and not Prince-like his behavior was? How he was not supposed to even talk to Luke at the first place? 

"Why are you grinning?" he asked annoyed how Wendy started giggling and blushing. What was going on with this girl?

"Tove, you really don't get it? Bain was madly flirting with you!" Wendy practically drooled over them and it was his turn to think the other went crazy and in need of mental support. There was no way Markis Bain flirted with him. He's probably not into boys anyway.

"Don't be ridiculous! He's a Markis! Not a teenage boy. He's not like that. He's all serious and grown up like he's supposed to be. " Tove defended Bain. He was hundred percent sure the Markis was not into him. He was trying to support him. 

"Oh, Tove! You are adorable but I'll let you know he invited you for some inappropriate fun and said you just have to ask. You could be in his bed right now enjoying his precious bloodline inside you!"

Tove turned bright red and turned to face the wall instead of Wendy. He was such an idiot for being so flustered about Wendy's non-sense. The girl didn't know what she was talking about.

"You are wrong"stated Tove as a last chance and Wendy laughed at him.

"Sure I am my precious husband. I myself too enjoy going around and saying to other boys to have inappropriate fun if they want to. Sweet dreams honey, don't let the bed Bains bite... or let them, whatever floats your boat."

She giggled and got under the blankets too. Even if she annoyed Tove and her horrible pun made him feel like dying he was happy that Wendy was so happy and playful for a few minutes. They both needed a childish joke after that horrible day. Slowly they both fell asleep.

Only to be woken up by Duncan who burst through their door in the middle of the night. The Prince and Princess tried to open their eyes but failed due to the sudden light.

"I'm sorry to wake you up but the group which went to Oslinna.... They were attacked on their way."

That made them awake in no time **.**


	3. Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they got attacked the trolls had to make decisions very quickly. Will these decisions be in favor of everyone?

Wendy threw on a bath robe and stormed out of the room. Tove needed a second to get himself together but it took longer than expected. As he stepped out of the room Wendy was gone and Tove didn't have the energy to run. Actually he never did. As his power was moving objects he never intended to do more exercises than necessary and now was not the time to start.

He looked around so he could see if anyone was around and fortunately the corridor was empty. He hated doing what he was about to do but in this case he couldn't afford to waste more time. He focused all his power on his clothes and pushed them with great force. He flown through the space before him and he wanted to close his eyes so badly but couldn't. He had to watch out for any obstacle in his way and to let himself down at the right place. 

He reached the stairs and let himself go. Tove rushed down the stairs trying so hard not to freak out. That's why he hated flying around. When he first tried it he made a mistake and moved his own body which took so much energy that he simply collapsed as soon as he got to stand up on his own two legs. That's when he realized he can't move around his own body because it somehow clashes with the rules. If there was any rule at all in the first place.

Therefore he tried out different techniques. He thought of moving only different body parts. That worked pretty well and he was able to move himself around but it took more energy than just simply moving around things. So he did some research and that's how he discovered if he was wearing clothes he could move them. Even if it required more focus he still managed to master it. He could fly but he hated it because it made him feel dizzy and nauseous. He couldn't figure it out why but at the moment he had more important things to take care of. 

He rushed behind Wendy who was kneeling beside Finn. The tracker was pretty much covered in blood and despite that he explained what happened.

"They killed a Markis and the Chancellor. The whole thing was his idea but... I don't know what happened. We surprised them but they were unexpectedly strong and we failed."

"Oh shit!" short swear word slipped out of Tove's mouth and Wendy looked back at him with worry in her eyes. 

"Tove, get your mother. We need her to heal Finn and the others," Wendy sent him a pleading puppy look and he rushed off to get Aurora. Before Tove could left he bumped into Bain who he totally forgot about. He felt a little bit guilty about that. 

Bain went with the rescue mission too. He was not powerful but his sister lived in Oslinna so he volunteered. To be honest Tove had no idea what Bain's power was. He cleared his mind off and concentrated on the man in front of him. He kept his arm in a very strange position and blood was scattered on his face. Tove's heart dropped and a very strange thought ran through his mind.I never should have let him go. 

"Bain!" he gasped and automatically checked if there was any kind of other damage on him. 

"Prince... I think you should call Marksinna Aurora as it was you wife's order." he was cold even with the obvious pain on his face. Tove was overly confused on why he called him Prince and why he was speaking to him like that when they had their moment earlier that day and the Markis was very out of his usual character. 

That's when he realized they were still in the hall with the other wounded trackers and other higher injured trolls. He gathered his left over calmness and instead of running to his family's house down the road he called his mother who immediately departed. 

Tove looked around nervously and grabbed Bain's not wounded arm. The Markis were saying something about how grateful they should be that any of them made it out alive. But Tove didn't care if anyone noticed how Bain's voice disappeared from the room. He wanted him injury free first and it meant he needed to catch his mother before she got inside and started to heal Finn. Even though Tove didn't think Aurora would heal him completely because he was a tracker and his mother wouldn't waste more of her power on him than necessary. Even if Wendy threatened her. 

That's why he dared to stop Aurora on the drive way and tugged the silent Markis Bain to the car. The older man asked nothing and said nothing the whole way from the door to the car. Tove was relieved because he didn't want to explain it to Bain. To be honest he was not sure he could explain it. 

"Mother, I need you to heal Markis Bain's arm." he said with slight worry in his voice.

Aurora was surprised. Her son rarely called her mother mostly because of the Trylle traditions and the little time they spent together. If he called her mother he wanted something pretty badly. And the Marksinna couldn't say no to her only son.

She got out of his white Lamborghini and touched Bain's arm. She could feel how the bone's structure was broken. It was nothing for her but she knew exactly how much pain the young Markis went through in the last few hours. His arm was broken to pieces. 

Aurora didn't have time to ask her son why did Bain deserve healing before anyone else because Tove forced her to rush inside and help the Princess as she was supposed to. Tove brushed through his hair and turned to Bain. 

"Are you okay?" he asked and the man nodded. He gave Tove a suspicious look.

"Why did you help me? I could have waited. Finn is in a very bad shape. You should have let your mother help him first." Tove felt reprehended for a second than remembered he is the Prince after all. He didn't have to give answers to a Markis whose not even half as powerful as he was. 

"I do not owe you any explanation. You should be grateful for my help not questioning me about it." Tove was proud of his answer. Making Bain aware of his 'royalty' left him with the feeling of being in charge. 

"Oh I am grateful. My arm hurt like hell. So thank you for that. But it is about me so you kind of do owe me an explanation." Markis Bain walked a few steps closer so he was standing right in front of the Prince. Tove immediately felt intimidated. He was not sure why but his feelings were running through him like a flooding river and he just trembled something which was no closer to an answer than saying nothing.

"I...umm... I just wanted to..." he stopped in the middle of the sentence and thought to himself. Why am I such a fool? He took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts into a sentence. One that could actually be understood. "We should head back to the palace. I don't want anyone to question our whereabouts."

"Yes, I think I should head home. My brother may be worried but I don't think he knows about the attack yet." Bain stayed where he was and Tove looked up at him with so much adoration because the older man was so calm, mature and fucking hot that Tove couldn't help it and stare at him.

"I didn't know you have a brother." Tove was a little confused. He was not the best with names and relations or anything which required to remember names and faces but he was certain that he never heard of Bain's brother. It was rather unusual to have siblings as a troll. They usually had one child and that was enough. As changeling placement was a rather expensive process parents tried to avoid having more children. Trylles could be quite greedy so it was strange enough that Bain had a sister. And he had a brother too? 

"Erm... Yeah, he's not really my brother. We are not from the same parents if you know what I mean." Bain looked in his eyes to make sure Tove got it. He did. Bain was living with his mansklig. That was not a big thing but no one seemed to like mentioning how the 'stolen' children were living with them after the changelings came home. It was not acceptable to talk about them. Tove didn't understand that anyways. His mansklig left before he arrived in Förening which was not a surprise for him after he met Aurora. She was allergic to normal people under her. Tove hated her mother for that.

"I don't think you should leave. The changelings are out there alone or just about to leave. Your duty is to stay in the palace where you can help us out. It's gonna be a rough night." He was not sure why he wanted Bain to be in the palace that night. He just wanted him to be safe. Also he was worried about the changelings the Vittra may wanted to capture and as Bain was in charge of them it was logical to expect him to be where the ruling of the whole Kingdom took place.

"Well, if my Prince needs me here I stay. If Tove wants me to say I'd be more than happy to do so." That cheeky grin Tove loved so much appeared on his face and the younger boy tried so hard not to blush. 

"Prince Tove wants you to stay. You can sleep in a guest room. Someone will probably show you one. But we should really head inside." Tove basically ran inside because hell, he hated Bain so much. Not in a hate way but... He hated the man's little hints and remarks. Tove could feel how much him being flustered made Bain more and more amused. 

The hall was empty when he entered. Finn and Wendy was gone and his mother was nowhere to be seen. He sighed and headed to the room he shared with Wendy. Tove had so many things on his mind in the moment he needed a little break. 

The room was empty as he went to sat on the velvet sofa. Tove thought Wendy might have been with Finn or Loki. He knew how much they loved each other. Which was rather strange as they did not know each other for that long. But during their dance on their wedding made it clear Wendy was in love with him just as much as the Vittra Markis was into her. Their aura was sparkling pink and it seemed like it shone around them. 

Auras were not like second skin. It took different shapes around different people. He used to think he has seen it all but then he met someone new and he was mesmerized by their new, unseen aura. That's how auras became his interest and hobby at the same time. He wrote a whole book about them as keeping things in mind was a challenge for him.

He had seen many of them but they were never the same. It's just completely impossible. Not even twins have the same. The color may be the same but the shade would probably be different. He adored all the different shapes and colors. He made a list about which color to trust and which color to avoid. How red people were energetic and silly but full off passion inside. How darker colors were the most trustworthy. The way he despised Marksinna Laris and her yellow aura. They were all in the books. As well as what each color meant. 

Auras changed colors but if the person's mood changed it just took a deeper or a lighter hue depended on if they were sadder or happier. If their emotions changed completely it would change to another color. For example if Luke ,who had a red aura, was neutral but suddenly become sad it would turn deeper red. If he turned that sadness to anger it would change to another color. 

When someone met another person they auras would collide. If they were on a phone with someone a part of their aura would change. As that color changed Tove could have told what they felt for each other. That's how he knew Wendy and Loki loved each other. When you really love someone your auras would turn pink. Or red if you had pink aura. And when the two trolls danced together it seemed like the whole dance floor turned pink and it was shiny and Tove nearly lost his mind by just watching it. 

He loved this part of his power. Seeing how much people loved another. They could lie to each other but never to Tove. It was the hardest part too. Because he had to watch as his parents auras were the same color and he knew what it meant. It's rare to have the same color as your partner. It's actually so rare that he had never seen anything like that. Your partner must be another color. If they were not your relationship was basically screwed. Having the same color meant you were probably sharing the same thoughts. The same beliefs. The same interests. And it meant you would make great friends but you just can't live with someone whose so much like you.

Tove thought about his own aura. He'd never seen it. He was curios what color and shape would it be. Probably a rainbow with the shape of an octagon. The boy sighed and looked up at the clock on the wall. He couldn't sleep so he just sat on the arm chair for the last hour but he became bored with his thoughts. Wendy was still away and he wondered where did the girl go. Probably doing some work as she was going through old Trylle books in the last few days to find a way to kill the Vittra king. So far she found nothing. Not that Tove expected more. Those books were about the Trylle and they didn't like killing each other. They just ruined someone's life if they wanted to but never murdered anyone. 

Tove stood up and stretched his arms above his head. He yawned a little and headed to the kitchen. He needed some help with sleep so decided to have a tea. The way downstairs was long because the Queen's personal chamber was at the very end of the wing. Tove preferred the room he got when he first moved in to make sure Wendy was safe. It was a smaller room with anything he needed and had a beautiful view of Förening. 

When he reached the kitchen he got scared because the lights were on. The whole palace was dark due to the late hour so he could see how the light came through the little gap between the door and the door frame. He stood at the door for a few seconds as he gathered his thoughts. Someone might be getting some knives out in there or planning something way worse. Or the Vittra may used the kitchen door from the garden as an alternative entrance and they were planning to take Wendy. 

Tove chose to do something therefore he made his black cape surround him in a half circle and do a slight waving motion to make him look bigger. He raised his hands in the air and pushed in the door with the best he could do without breaking the wooden door. He didn't really need the cape and hand raising shit but he noticed how terrified his enemies looked like when he did those little "effects". So he wouldn't mind playing the mighty God. It was actually amazing how scared some can look like when see him flipping over a car without even looking at it.

As he stepped in he made the waving in his cape linger but put his arms down. There was no enemy in the kitchen. Actually it was only a terrified Markis Bain who looked like he had several heart attacks and strokes because of Tove's entry. 

The Prince felt the urge to bury himself deep in to the ground and never come out. The Markis genuinely seemed scared and it made him feel stupid. The last thing he wanted to do was making people questioning their safety more than they do now. If Bain would decided to tell this to anyone they would be horrified. Their own Prince was afraid in the most secure place in the whole Kingdom. How could they trust them after that? 

"You scared the shit out of me! I thought some Vittra was here to murder me because I happened to like Mountin Dew and I'm the shame of the troll society or some bullshit. Jesus Tove! If you were mad at me for something you should have told me that without the fuss." Bain rambled and went for a broom to get the broken glass from the floor. Tove was so embarrassed by his stupid assumption he didn't even realize what Bain was doing until he heard the broken glass clinking into each other.

"Let me do that for you!" He jabbered and got the glasses together and put them in the bin with his power. He'd rather not have Bain getting cut because of him. 

"Thank you!" said Bain with a sigh and looked down at the liquid on the floor. He looked like he was disappointed and Tove really hated see him like that. 

"I'm sorry Bain, I thought there was someone in here... Someone more dangerous and I wanted to surprise them so I would have the advantage. I'm such a dork I'm so so so sorry." He rambled on and on about how sorry he was as he made his way to the Markis making sure he was not hurt in any way. 

"That's perfectly fine. I was so busy with my thoughts that it made me jump. That's all. You don't have to be so fidgety about it. I'm just sad because my drink landed on the floor." Bain reassured it with a smile and stepped to the fridge and got out a can of Mountain Dew and turned to Tove. "I assume you are here for a reason. Would you like something to drink or eat?"

Tove nodded and turned on the kettle and got out some tea and a mug from the cupboards. Bain seemed amused by how Tove did nothing but stood in the middle of the kitchen and looked at certain objects and made them do anything he wanted without taking a step. 

The dark haired boy just stood there for seconds not knowing what to do. He didn't want to stay with Bain because he might question his behavior earlier that night and he didn't have a proper answer for that yet. But he kind of didn't want to leave because his room was too big and lonely at the moment. As he was wondering what should he do Bain made his way over to the boy and grabbed his arm.

"Come on Tove, don't be so ashamed. You should be proud how cautious you were. We live in a war zone. We have to be careful." He tugged the younger away and made him sat on the bar stool. He got his can and let Tove sort himself out. 

"Thanks, I guess. I didn't realize I was not the only one who was awake." Tove got the kettle and poured the tea in the mug then placed some tea leaves in there and turned his whole attention back to Bain. 

"Oh, I couldn't sleep. I was just... Thinking. What about you?" Bain seemed rather sad about something which Tove didn't need aura to notice but he just answered the question.

"Same with me. I always struggled with sleeping." 

"I guess it makes sense."

Bain stayed quiet after that so as Tove. The silence became bigger and bigger as the time went by. Minutes were gone by not saying a thing. Bain stared at his can and eventually took a sip but only a small one. Tove's tea got ready and the boy did take out the leaves but didn't drink any of it. Tove felt the unsaid tension in the air but he couldn't wrap his head around it. They were not enemies. They were not fighting. Than why all this awkwardness and tension between them? 

"What were you thinking about?" asked Tove breaking the silence. Bain looked at him and yes; Tove kind of felt different when Bain looked at him than how he felt with others but he wouldn't admit that. 

The man thought about it for a second than looked at his hand around his drink and spoke up.

"I... I don't feel safe. I don't feel like I'm any help. I can't do shit. That tracker guy, Finn would be a better choice in a war than me. I am strong but I have basically no power. I'm a Markis and the only power I have is from signing the good papers for the good people!" Bain became worked up as he reached the end and crashed his can onto the floor and rubbed his eyes. The empty aluminium rolled down the kitchen floor until Tove decided to stop it because the noise annoyed him.

"See?" snapped Bain and tugged on his hair. "You can move stuff around. You can read minds. You can see auras. You looked so ho...I mean... Bad-ass when you stormed in with a flowing cape and everything. I could never make myself look that intimidating with a fucking ballpoint pen!" 

"That was all nothing. I moved around my own cape to make you scared for a moment than you would have realized I'm just a skinny boy with powers. But I can't read minds. I can hear them. That's different. I can hear you if you think of something a bit more than other things or emphasize it. And I hear everyone at all times. I can't stop it. I can make it low but never switch it off fully." Tove explained and grabbed Bain's hand as he was afraid the man might pull out his own hair. 

"But you can do these things. I can't do shit!" he murmured and sounded upset but he stared at Tove's hand on his and seemed surprised about the boy's action.

"I'm sure you can do something. What's your power? Show me!" Tove encouraged him with a smile and he never felt more excited about founding out someone's power than in that moment. Another mysterious thing could be taken off from the list he didn't know about Bain.

The older looked at Tove's mug and stared at it. For a moment Tove thought the man had to think of his own power which would be ridiculous. But a minute or so later the water in the mug started to boil and Tove was amazed. He couldn't keep off his eyes from the tea which was boiling and spilling the greenish water everywhere. 

"You can boil water?" Tove squeled and looked totally amazed. Bain had a smile on his face as he watched the boy being entertained by such a little amount of power. "How is that even possible? You are not a Skojare! There was no record of everyone who could boil water outside of their tribe!"

Tove knew some stuff about them. Not much. But he was sure he read about how only Skojare trolls were able to control water on a level Bain did. And boiling was a rare power even within that tribe as it was the combination of fire and water. The two opposites. 

"I'm sure you've seen my eyes. I have their blood in my veins. My mother's mother was a Skojare. But then she married a Vittra. Then my mother married my father whos a Trylle." Bain explained. Tove was not sure how Bain was not realizing his own importance. If his bloodline truly looked like that it meant he had the abilities and the life span of a Vittra which explained all the muscles and how tall he was. Almost as big as Loki but slightly smaller and less bulkier. He was handsome as hell as all the Trylle are. And he had the eyes and the powers of a Skojare. That, ladies and gentleman, was something that made Tove more interested in Bain.

"Bain, your grandfather is a Vittra! It means you won't die as young as other Trylle. You have the power to live a normal amount of life." It was a big thing especially for Tove who couldn't just turn on and off his powers like Wendy. He would go mad eventually from all these thoughts running around in his mind.

"Yeah I thought of that but... My power is still nowhere as powerful as yours or Wendy's." Bain's whining made Tove mad and confused. How could he not see his own abilities. With practice and experience Bain could boil a swimming pool, a sea or the god damn Pacific Ocean and he still wouldn't die because he had the blood of a Vittra.

"Bain, we are the most powerful trolls in a long time. Of course you cannot reach our level. Wendy's mind tricks are rare. And me... You don't want to be me. I have to use my power to stay in focus. If I don't I go crazy. If I use it too much I go crazy. In twenty years I'll go crazy anyways. And because I can't control my aura seeing or mind hearing power I'll be gone in thirty years. You are lucky!"

Tove's outburst took Bain by surprise. The Prince was sad and worked up but at the same time he accepted the fact that he's gonna die. And that made the Markis regret his underestimating of his powers. He thought his bloodline was not really a big deal. Apparently it was.

"I...I'm sorry to hear that... If you don't mind... I was curious how your power works. I got the moving stuff but.. What about the auras? Are they always visible? Or how you can see who you are talking to if they are covered in colors?..." Or.. How.. What... Bain had like a hundred questions about Tove's power which the boy gladly answered. 

"No I don't see auras all the time. When I talk to someone their aura disappears but if someone would walk in right now and I stopped talking to you I would see your aura. As soon as I got back talking to you your aura would be gone again. Every aura looks different and every color means something..." Tove answered a few other of his questions then Bain asked something interesting that made Tove wonder.

"Can you trick your mind into thinking you are not talking to me? That way you could see my aura."

"Well... I can try but we have to make sure we are not talking at all. If we do my mind wouldn't even try to listen to me." Bain nodded and the room went dead silent and Tove closed his eyes. He started to drift from the conversation he had with Bain. He tried to forget his answers, his questions, the bloodline theory, anything that was connected to to them.

When he opened his eyes Bain had his blue aura around him and he smiled widely while Tove nodded in excitement. He never thought of tricking his own mind! That was an awesome idea from Bain. 

"What is my color? What does it look like?" Bain was just as excited as a little child and Tove giggled and deep inside he was confused about why he did just giggle about that.

"Deep blue. The strangest I've ever seen. Auras are not deep colors. They have to be light so I can still see through the color but yours is like a tinted version. It's magical!" Maybe Tove was not really focused on Bain's aura anymore as it faded away but the Markis didn't have to know that. It gave the boy a very good chance to stare at the man on the least creepiest way. But it was not like Bain was excited about his aura's color anymore. He just stared at Tove and adored the features of the boy. 

Tove was tingling all over inside him and he was sure Bain was closer to him than he should have been. Not that he cared about that. In that moment he needed Bain in a way he couldn't describe. It was strange he felt so attracted to Bain at that moment. He felt like throwing himself on the Markis who suddenly placed his hand on Tove's thighs and his breath hitched.

"What is the color now?" Tove had to process the question and swallowed hard as he tried to answer. The words came slowly to his mind. It was like trying to find the words in a different language.Bain's closeness made Tove overly worked up.

"I can't... I can't see change because... I could never... see any difference. It's always blue." he stuttered and Bain's face shown satisfaction. Like his goal was to make Tove weak.

"Interesting. Can you hear my thoughts?" Bain asked again and Tove was hundred percent sure that he could feel his breath on his face and even though it smelled slightly like Mountin dew it made him go crazy. He never tried the beverage as it was not pleasant for trolls but he had the urge to try it right now. If possible just the lingering taste from Bain's lips.

"N...Noo...Not really" he said and Bain's smile was surprised. 

"Hmm.... I do think about something very hard." Tove was done. He wanted to know what Bain was thinking about and his closeness made him go insane. Bain's eyes stared at his lips now and his hand on Tove's thigh burned his skin. He didn't know what he wanted from Bain. He wanted something but he couldn't make it out at the moment. It was a once in a lifetime experience for him. 

He could feel Bain and only him. If that's what being attracted to someone means it was awesome and he wanted it all but at the same time he knew he could not do this. Not when he was in charge of a Kingdom. He needed his own life together. That's why he was so panicked under the attraction he felt. He wanted to do something with Bain. He was not even sure what. But at the same time he wanted him out of his way. To let him go. To just... make Bain leave him alone and stop being this handsome, intelligent and flirty Trylle he is.

That's why when Bain leaned in to quite possibly kiss him he threw that poor guy across the room. He collapsed as soon as he hit the wall. Tove gasped and rushed to him but Bain was not conscious. He panicked and ran out of the kitchen despite his hatred of running. He literally bumped into Duncan who looked mortified. 

"Duncan! Send someone to the kitchen who can help out Markis Bain! I knocked him out... accidentally." Tove added and Duncan nodded not questioning anything.

"I will Prince, but I have to inform you. The Vittra Markis and Princess Wendy went to the Vittra palace. They are going to see the King."

That's when Tove's heart dropped and didn't know what to do except calling Finn and Willa, his most powerful allies. If Wendy went to the enemy they could do the same.


	4. Oslinna

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oslinna's devastated form affects everyone on a different way but no one can compete with Tove. Will the boy who can hear the thoughts and see the feelings survive a disaster?

"I can't believe they went to the Vittra! Alone!" Finn went on with rambling about Wendy's secret mission. Willa, Duncan and Tove were on the same page as him but they let Finn talk it out. They knew very well that he had very strong feelings about the Princess and as much as he wanted to hid it whenever someone mentioned Wendy his aura turned pink and it made Tove sad. Finn was wasting his love on a girl who loved someone else.

"I just hope we are not late" Willa said a few minutes after Finn went silent. Tove hummed in agreement but his mind was somewhere else.

He didn't marry Wendy because he loved her. Everyone seemed to know that. But he believed that they would make a good team. That's why he never really protested against his mother when he got to know about the arranged marriage. Wendy was his good friend and Tove admired the way she saw things. She meant a whole new world for the Trylle. A world where you could marry who you want, where you can have a normal family and where the social levels are not the most important things. Tove wanted that and was willing to team up with he girl.

But right now Tove felt betrayed because Wendy didn't seem like she understood what it meant to marry someone. You don't hide your plans from each other. You are supposed to share them and discuss it in a proper way. That's what made Tove so melancholic. He proposed to Wendy properly on his own without any kind of pressure from his mum and that was a big thing for him. He was nervous and stressed about it for hours because he didn't know anything about love so doing these things were pretty uncomfortable for him. He gave up many things to be with Wendy even when he was not attracted to her on any way. It seemed like Wendy didn't realize that. 

Tove pulled up to the drive way which he has seen once when he helped to rescue Matt, Rhys and Wendy. As they drove pass several giant pine trees he felt oppressed by the perpetual darkness they gave to the road. The only light source was the moon and while they were on the motorway its white shining showed them the night scenery but as soon as they got into the woods the trees blocked the light so they had to depend on the car lights. 

Soon they got to the Vittra Palace which was nowhere near as big or majestic as the Trylle one. But it was unknown and dangerous. Finn swore and pointed at the entry which got closer with every second. It looked like the door was opening and two figures stepped out of the palace. A black Cadillac parked in front of it and it seemed familiar to Tove. He was sure the car belonged to the Queen's collection.

"They are coming out" Tove could feel how Finn's blood was boiling from anger and he didn't have to look at the boy's aura for that. He just knew his friend was not in a good mood about Wendy getting close to Loki. He gave up on her because Wendy had to marry someone the Trylle would respect and now the girl is falling for Loki whos a Vittra and therefore the enemy of their tribe. The nobles would never truly trust him.

Tove pulled over right next to the stairs almost hitting the other car. He stopped the car and jumped out of it without bothering to turn off the engine. Finn ran around the car and didn't stop until he reached the two trolls and without any words he punched Loki hard in the face. Tove was not at all surprised by that as Finn wanted to kill the Vittra. His thoughts were quite strongly emphasised which amused Tove because he knew very well that even if Finn could hurt him he would never be able to kill him. Loki was way stronger physically than any of them. Not mentioning that he had the power to look into your eyes and send you to an unconscious state. 

Even so Loki's aura did change its color to a dark brown for a second so Finn must have hit him hard. The Vittra went to hit back but Wendy stopped him before he could even started it. If it would ended up in a fistfight Finn may wouldn't lived till the next day.

"What did you thought? Why did you come all alone here? We were worried that the King has already killed you or threw you to the dungeon." Willa rushed to Wendy and tackled her with a hug. 

"I was not alone. And we have to get back to Förening. We need to organize another mission to Oslinna. This time we won't be disturbed." Wendy said then looked at Tove. Her heart dropped as she realized what she did to the boy. His face was cold and emotionless but she knew right away Tove was mad at her. And she wasn't going to defend herself because she messed up really bad this time.

"Well, I guess we can do that..." said Willa who felt awkward with all this tension between Tove and Wendy and Finn and Loki. She was relieved Wendy got out of there alive and without any harm. She didn't even want to question Wendy how did she know they wouldn't be ambushed again. 

"Duncan, can you ride with Loki back to Förening? I need to talk to my wife." Duncan nodded and got into the Cadillac. Loki stood next to the black car and argued with Finn. Those two were annoying. If they could just shut up for two whole minutes Tove could think of a way to talk about that with Wendy.

"Finn!" Tove raised his voice and the tracker looked at him in surprise. He was not the one who raised his voice often. "Get in the car. All of you. Except you, Loki." 

Everyone followed his order without complaints. They were probably afraid he would throw them in there if they wouldn't. Loki stepped to the Prince.

"Why do you want to talk to me?" 

"I know I said you're a jerk. And you know that I don't care about that. I genuinely think you are a good person with a bitchy attitude. So answer me; why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you just left me a note? Wendy didn't have to know about it. Slip it under my door or send me a text. Anything would have done it. So why didn't you?"

Loki seemed to think for a few moments than shrugged his shoulders.

" I was... I was convinced by Wendy that you would stop her and she wanted to go. I couldn't let her go alone and I knew she could never use persuasion to stop you from coming with us. She wanted you safe so if anything happened to us... There would be someone to take care of the Kingdom. I thought it was logical but... now I think we did more harm than Wendy expected." his answer was good enough for Tove. Still, he was mad but the Vittra was right. Wendy's persuasion only worked on him when her life was in danger and Tove could hear her. 

"So what was the plan?" Loki looked at the Vittra palace and sighed.

"Wendy promised to give her Kingdom to the King as soon as Elora dies and she becomes the Queen in exchange for peace. Just to earn some time, help out Oslinna and figure out how to kill the King. So when the time comes and Oren will come for his new Kingdom we can kill him."

Tove thought about the plan for a while. It was not stupid but very risky. Still a good plan though. They just had to be quick.

"I support it. That's a good plan but still. You should have told me." The Vittra seemed guilty so Tove didn't continue his questioning and let Loki join Duncan in the car. Before he got in he turned to Tove one last time.

"I'm sorry Tove. I just couldn't bring myself to oppose her. I hope you understand that." With that he jumped in the car and turned it on.

Yes, he did. He knew Loki wanted to please and protect Wendy and he did the job. So after a deep breath he got into the SUV. No one said a thing and Tove wanted to get out of there before he started it. So they sat in silence until Tove pulled up to the road and moonlight covered the land again. 

"You didn't tell me" he said at length.

"I know and I'm so sorry I... I did it because...." Wendy tried to reason her choice but Tove snapped at her.

"I don't care, Wendy! I don't care why did you do it. I don't care because I know you awanted the best."

"So what is your problem? If you don't care?" Wendy sounded annoyed and surprised at the same time but Tove just sighed.

"Wendy, I asked you to marry me because I care about you. I wanted to be next to you and support your every decision as I did. I thought we were a team. Until you stopped telling me what is going on in your head. "

"Tove..." Wendy's heart dropped. She hated herself for hiding that from her husband. "We are a team. I swear I was just... Afraid you might want to stop me or think that I'm stupid. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I know you are but it doesn't really matter if you won't trust me enough to share something this big with me. Promise me you'll never hide anything from me again." Tove heard Wendy thinking how much she messed it up with him and it kind of calmed him down. Not fully but to a point where he understood that Wendy was practically terrified from the thought of him not trusting her again. It was nice to know Wendy cared about Tove's feelings. He never really had anybody who worried about losing him so much that they would oppress any other thoughts. With warmth in his chest he forgave her then Wendy asked.

"Do you know what I've done? I mean... In there with the King." Tove nodded as he carefully passed a slow car in front of them. He liked driving it took his mind off of things.

"Yes, Loki told me. And I think it was the right thing to do. As soon as we get to Förening we have to organize the whole rescue to Oslinna. We depart in the early hours tomorrow. We don't have much time to waste." 

Wendy agreed and the rest of the car ride was spent with discussing Wendy's plan. Finn was outraged about it and Willa was not pleased either. But Tove thought this is the risk they had to take for success. The princess fell asleep a few minutes after she apologized to Tove so her plan had to be presented by Tove who knew enough to ensure the others that everything is gonna be just fine. Their first priority now had to be Oslinna.

When they arrived Tove parked the SUV in the garage and went inside the palace. He needed some sleep as he never really went to bed. Wendy decided to go to the library and go through some old books before she goes to bed so their ways separated. On his way to his and Wendy's room he noticed Markis Bain laying on a sofa snoring slightly. The man had something in his hand and as Tove walked closer he noticed the frozen vegetables in his weak grip. He suddenly remembered what he's done before he rushed to the rescue. His heart dropped and fastened his steps.

He knelt down next to the young Markis and wondered how much did he hurt him. He was not using full power but he did threw him up the wall. Now was the time when Tove felt guilty as hell. He was such a drama queen. He hurt Bain because he was going to kiss him. He was mad at himself for that. He could just said 'sorry Bain but I'm not really into you' or if he was going to lie anyways he should have told him that he's not interested in guys. But nah, he had to gave him a fright. Of course.

"I thought I'll never get you on your knees. Guess I was wrong." a raspy voice said and Tove jumped a little then realized Bain was awake. He stood up and waited for the Markis to sit up. It was a rather long process as he seemed like he was in a lot of pain. 

"Oh you won't. I came to check on you. Well, I was going to sleep a little but then I saw you and..." before he could finish it Bain shot him a lazy smile and cut into his sentence.

"Couldn't resist to stare at me? I know I'm hot babe, but watching someone sleeping is a little bit creepy if you ask me." Tove was amazed by how Bain didn't even care that last time when he was flirting with him the Prince sent him into the dark for a good 5 minutes as Duncan informed him.

"I'm not your 'babe' and I certainly didn't stare at you sleeping. I was making sure you were okay. As it was my fault that you ended up blacked out. I want to apologize for that. I don't know why did I do that." The last sentence was so not true that even Bain knew that.

"I think you do but I'm not gonna pursue that because I may get my spine broken or something and I really don't want that." Bain laughed but it was clear that he was in big pain because of it. Tove was worried he didn't know why Bain had a so painful look if his mother was supposed to heal him. That's why he sent Duncan to ran off quickly and ask Aurora to take good care of Bain before they left.

"Did Marksinna Aurora take proper care of you?"

Bain never stopped smiling but shook his head and pressed the now dripping semi-frozen peas to his head.

"She came to see me but when that tracker, Duncan I believe, left she said if you hurt me I deserve that pain so she just got these out of the freezer and poured me a glass of water. I never drank it though. I was afraid she might have done something to it." Tove was outraged by hearing that. Aurora didn't just ignore her son's command but her Prince's too. It seemed as she forgot Tove was now above her. She's supposed to follow every order. Not that he was a big fan of monarchy but enjoying its advantages wouldn't hurt.

"I will send her back to you as soon as possible. I will make sure myself that she won't choose to disobey me again. After all it was my fault." Tove looked down at Bain and tried to figure it out how could he manage to look amazing with so much pain in his body. Even his eyes were shining with their usual sparkling blue. His hair was in a perfect quiff as usual. He looked like he just stepped out of a Calvin Klein add.

"Thank you. I appreciate that." Tove zoned out for a little amount of time so he just stared at Bain. He was not intended to be rude or ignorant but the Markis had this effect on him. The kind when he just couldn't stop staring at him and had the urge to blush every time the man smiled at him. It was all new for him. He never felt as attracted to someone as he did to Bain.

"Isn't that ridiculous that you can marry someone you don't love but you can't accept the fact that you like me?" Bain's question reached Tove in a slow motion but as soon as it got to his brain he glared at the other. 

"I don't. You are my subject."

Bain laughed and leaned back on the sofa he was sitting on. 

"I'm not. I will be but right now I'm Elora's subject. You are my Prince. But I'm under oath to Elora not you." He started annoying Tove with this naughty behavior. Tove could handle him until a point but Bain stepped over that.

"You are! I'm the Prince! It means your words which obligate you to the Queen also obligate you to me as I am the future King. Get used to it." He felt his power slipping to the end of his cape and moving it around him. It was a natural reflex to his enragement. His mind knew he wanted to look more dramatic during these times so it reacted right away. Bain seemed to be amazed by that and not scared. Not at all.

"Wow! You are amazing! I love it when you get feisty and do this cape-waving stuff. It looks good on you." 

Tove was mad at him but he was tired. He wanted this day to come to an end so he could concentrate on the next day's mission to Oslinna. He was exhausted and it made his mind playing up a bit. He had so much to think about and at the moment he was lost. He had Wendy and Loki, the Kingdom, Finn, his mother and now Bain is being more and more flirty with him against his will. It hurt his mind and suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his head and the sudden ache made him collapse to the floor. Before he could hit it Bain grabbed him and tried to place Tove's arm around his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Bain asked with sudden worry. He didn't want to hurt Tove. He was playing around with him as he always did. He had no clue the Prince was in such a bad condition.

"I'm fine. You... You shouldn't be up you're in p...pain." Tove's words were not willing to cooperate with him so he just leaned his head on Bain's shoulder for support. He was more guilty than before as he was placing more pressure on Bain's body which probably was sore already.

"I'm your friend, okay? I won't let you pass out on the floor. I'll take you to your room." Before Tove could protested Bain picked him up into his arms and carried him to his room. The Prince was pretty dazzled by Bain's strength. He was hurt way more than Tove and he could've just help him get to his bed by supporting his walking but no, he had to carry him like a real princess and it annoyed Tove; at least that's what he tried to show but inside he was freaking out because he felt himself falling for Bain harder than ever. 

Fortunately no one was around when they reached the chamber. Otherwise they would have been in a great trouble. Especially Bain. More like only Bain but it meant Tove would feel guilty and he would try to help out the Markis which would lead to hundreds of questions and he had to stop thinking so much because that was getting out of hand.

Bain placed him on the bed and Tove sat on it with his legs straight. He looked up at Bain and smiled at him. As much as he was terrified about how his feelings were getting more serious about the man he tried being friendly with him. That often turned into awkward politeness and distancing which he hated but Tove didn't know how to deal with his own emotions. It was hard enough to understand other's.

When Bain left he got out his cell from his pocket. He had an older type of flip phone as he admired older technology and he could use it easily with his power if he wanted to. As he struggled to get his new iPod touch working with his powers he figured touch screens must be more complicated than he thought. As soon as he'll have some time he will surely buy an older shuffle with buttons. But right now he was stuck with his old phone which he found his mother's number on and called her. Aurora answered at the second ring and Tove gave her no chance to greet him. 

"Why did you disobey me Marksinna?" Aurora seemed surprised at the other end of the line. His son never called her by her title. 

"I... what are you talking about Tove?" She knew very well what he was talking about. She didn't heal Markis Bain despite his son's wish. She didn't think it was a command. If she knew it Aurora wouldn't argue with the decision. She thought his son was hurt by Bain and Tove tried to cover the tracks which Aurora wouldn't allow in a thousand years. His son couldn't be hurt by everyone.

"You know what I'm talking about. I demanded to heal Bain as I lost the control and hurt him. I asked you on my behalf to take care of him as I was unable to do so. Why did you ignored that? He's hurt!" Tove got a little upset as he said the last sentence and quickly calmed his words before his mother got suspicious. "You know I don't care. I want you to get to the palace and heal him as he's coming with us to Oslinna tomorrow. And by us I mean you too. We don't have any healers left besides you."

"Oslinna? Isn't that dangerous? What if the Vittra attack us? We can't risk..."

"We can! So before I drag you across whole Förening get in your car, heal Bain and get ready for an early start!" Tove hung up and sighed in relief. He had a few hours left until sunrise and decided to sleep.

While he was sleeping his mother arrived at the palace. She was highly confused by Tove's behavior. He was strange due to his powers. He looked bored all the time. He always played with little things to keep himself focused. These things may annoyed Aurora but her son never forgot his place. She made sure he knows how powerful he is and to try to behave like he was expected. Sometimes he failed but he never used names and titles in a not appropriate way. Calling a Markis on their name was not acceptable for a Prince. Talking to his own mother the way he did was not the best choice either but now he's the Prince so Aurora let it go.

So she went for a search. Markis Bain probably never left the palace. He probably had the worst head and back pain of his life. Tove's defense caused a huge bruise right next to the man's spine. It would have been a surprise to see him walking as it would cause him unbearable soreness. But to her surprise Aurora bumped into the Markis as they both turned corners at the same time.

"Marksinna Aurora! It's a pleasure to meet you again." She forcefully smiled and looked up at the unusually high Trylle. They were known to be smaller than the average so Markis Bain stood out. Aurora had a lot of respect for the Markis. He was the most diplomatic troll she has ever met. But he had hurt her son which overpowered any kind of respect.

"I came to heal you. My son pointed out my misjudgment. But I don't have much time so if you could get off your shirt and turn your back at me, please." the man looked confused for a second, almost unnoticeable, if you were not looking for mistakes. But that was something Aurora always did. She enjoyed finding out others' weaknesses and that was only possible if someone failed to hide their mistakes and emotions.

Aurora touched the now half-naked Bain's back and let her power do the healing. She thought it would take quite a few minutes but under a few seconds his bruises were gone and his insides seemed fine. She double checked to make sure she was not wrong. She wasn't. The Markis was fully healed and it got her nosy. 

"We're done. Impressive healing speed. No other Trylle has ever recovered that fast from a damage as serious as yours. Let alone walking around like nothing happened." Aurora tried to ignore looking at Markis Bain as he dressed up again. His figure was... very appealing and she was certainly not blind. But he was way younger and lower ranked than her and it would have been a shame to get caught as she was staring at him.

"Well, Prince Tove told me why could that be but I'm not a hundred percent sure. So I would keep it to myself is you won't mind."

"I don't. One more thing and I let you go. Why did my son calls you by your name?" 

Bain thought about the answer for a moment. Aurora was a very important Trylle. If she ever finds out Bain's little game with Tove she would be furious. 

"I think it was only an "at-the-moment" thing. We have a good relationship with the Prince and I don't mind him calling me whatever he pleases." 

Aurora accepted the reasoning. Being a Prince must be hard for him and earning some friends wouldn't hurt anyone. But she was not sure about Bain. It seemed like the man was up to something. But she may be wrong. Her love for his son is was stronger than anything else even if she didn't show that.

"I'm sure you are. Tove is not easy to be friends with. I'm glad he's trying to get on well with you."

"It's a honor to be close with him. He's an amazing Prince. You must be proud of him." Bain's mouth formed a mocking smile which Aurora didn't get. What did she miss? Was there something that she should knew? She felt like there was. That no one told her about.

"I am indeed. You should rest some. Tomorrow is gonna be a hard day." the Markis nodded and bowed to Aurora then left. The Marksinna watched him walking away. She couldn't wrap her head around what was so strange about the man. Why did Tove hurt him? Why did it seem like something very strange was happening right in front of her. It bothered her so much. She despised the feeling of being unsure and left in the dark. But right now she needed sleep. Oslinna is a long way from home.

The next morning came fast for Tove. He didn't even have time to realize what was going on when he suddenly found himself packing his stuff. Wendy and him packed with the speed of lightning as both of their night was uneasy and exhausting so they slept in a little. Wendy finished first and told Tove she's gonna check on the others. Tove just hummed and continued getting his clothes and other necessities organized. Suddenly he heard a knock on the door and looked over to the entrance of the wardrobe. Bain stood their in black sweatpants and a white T-shirt with a black hoodie. Tove liked the change as the Markis usually wore elegant or business casual clothes. He looked good either way but the leisure clothes gave him a very interesting emission.

"Hi! Can I bother you for a sec?" he stepped into the room full of clothes not even considering no as an answer.

"Sure you can" Tove stood up and straightened out his clothes a little bit.

"I just like to say thank you for calling your mother. It means a lot to me. I thought she's gonna ignore you again but I guess Aurora decided to remember who you really are." Bain smiled and Tove melt under his stare which he tried not to show. He didn't even understand why he felt that way when it was a single smile.

"Yeah... I-I guess that's right. And... No problem. I made you suffer. I should have taken care of you but... I had things to do." Tove awkwardly stood there and the Markis just let out a weak laugh and stepped closer to him. He was standing right in front of him and it was very similar to when he first flirted with him. At least Wendy claimed that he was 'madly flirting' so he tried to accept it. He didn't want to. He had too much shit going on in the moment. He didn't have the energy for any kind of feelings.

"Well, I don't really mind that you didn't take care of me. I would like to take care of you first." Bain placed his hand on Tove's hips and pulled the younger boy closer so their bodies touched. The room suddenly become way too hot for Tove's liking. His cheeks heated up and he placed his arms on Bain's chest so he won't get any closer to him. 

"What... What do you mean?" He stuttered and Bain's smile became wider by the moment he said those words.

"I think you know very well what I meant. You can't hide your feelings really well, my Prince."

"That's probably because I don't have any. I'm sorry but you... Must..." Tove lost his words as the Markis buried his face in his neck and kissed his skin lightly. Tove's arms were still on Bain's chest but it didn't give him too much protection. The Markis wanted to own him. He could feel that in the air and by the way he touched him. He never felt anything like that before. At least not on himself. He really wanted to push Bain away with his power but he made a promise to himself that he would never hurt him again. 

"I must what? I didn't... quite... catch... that part." Bain could feel Tove getting weaker by every moment and he made the tension almost unbearable with kissing the black haired boy's skin between every few word. He was not entirely sure about Tove being gay because he acted like he didn't want Bain to flirt with him but at the same time he knew the youngster stared at him a lot. In a way that gave Bain the signal to make some moves.

"I'm not gay!" Tove suddenly showed the Markis away and Bain's expression was surprised, confused and hurt at the same time.

"I'm... I'm sorry.... I'm terribly sorry I didn't know... I thought you were because... I don't know... I'm just..." Bain tried to apologize but Tove was furious. He didn't want anything from Bain. At least not in that moment. He was mad because he hated the weakness he felt while Bain held him. But he hated the fact, that he wanted it back so bad, more. 

"I don't care! I don't want you! I have a wife! I'm married! Just... Get out! I don't wanna see you anymore." Tove shouted at the Markis which was strange as he was not the one who easily lost his temper. 

"I'm sorry, Tove. I didn't want to upset..." 

"Just leave! Just leave me for good!" he ordered and Bain shut his mouth and left. He was so disappointed. The young Markis really felt like Tove was into boys. He could see how he looked at him. He said he doesn't love Wendy. Maybe Tove was straight after all. Maybe Bain just messed up his good connection with the Prince and that could backfire at him.

At the same time, while Bain was trying to figure out what he was missing out of the picture, Tove started crying. Little, soft whimpers left his lips as he sat on the floor next to his bags. He was so miserable. He wanted to love someone but he had to realize; he couldn't. He had to sacrifice his happiness for Förening's sake. He only wanted to do the best and he thought sending Bain away was the right choice. 

But as he thought back it wouldn't hurt him. Maybe if he just let Bain kiss him and have a little make out session in the closet wouldn't have been the worst scenario. It would have been for a little fun without any boundaries. To feel wanted. To feel loved. Tove needed that but he was so afraid from everything. He couldn't let Bain so close to him. It was not right.

He tried to gather up himself and left the room. As he walked down the stairs he wiped his tears away and forced a smile on his face as he approached his wife and mother. They were talking about the cars and who will sit with who. Tove only asked to be with Wendy because he knew very well that his mother wants to be with him, as well as Loki wants to be with Wendy and of course Duncan has to be with Wendy all the time so their car would be full. And he had no chance with getting into the same car as Bain. 

On the way to Oslinna he managed to sleep a little more so as he woke up they were about a half hour away. He decided to keep his eyes closed and listened to his mother's and Wendy's discussion about something. 

"I don't know, Aurora. He didn't tell me anything about it. It must have been an accident." Wendy said and she sounded like the subject was really new to her. Tove wondered what were they talking about. 

"He knows how to control his powers. He nearly ever makes mistakes anymore. That Markis must have done something really disturbing if he reacted that way." Now he knew what they were talking about. His little misadventure with Bain. It kinda made him sad. He never intended to hurt the Markis. 

"I'm sure Tove had a very good reason. He's young, maybe they got carried away with making out and he freaked out." Tove nearly choked on his own saliva by Loki's comment. How did he know? He was not supposed to know Tove was gay. Hell, not even Wendy were supposed to know even if it seemed like she did.

"Vittra, I never liked you but saying my son is gay will not help your case. He's married! He's not homosexual." his mother's indignant tone made his heart drop. He wasn't expecting her to be supportive but it still made his heart ache.

"Sure my majesty. Tell me when you figured it out that your son likes it up the ass." it was Wendy's turn to gasp loudly. Tove actually smirked a little by Loki's comment. Well, he was not wrong after all. 

"Loki, he's sleeping right next to you! You can't just say that!"

"Oh, and it's totally normal to choose sitting next to two guys when your wife is driving. But if you two choose to be ignorant of the facts I'm not gonna argue."

Tove almost forgot Duncan between him and the Vittra. He didn't say a thing. He was probably afraid someone might hurt him because of his opinion.

"Let's just... drop this. We're almost there." The rest of the car ride was spent in silence.

As they arrived to Oslinna Tove acted like he just woke up because he wanted to see the city. What he's seen took his breath away. The buildings were almost all collapsed. The bricks laying around as a sign of previous buildings. Now it was nothing more than a pile of stones. But that view was nothing compared to what Tove heard and saw. 

The few trolls searching through the piles had very dark thoughts. They almost instantly reached towards Tove. Death. Their auras were darker than the night sky and heavier than anything he has ever seen. The dark color seemed to swallow these people. Some of them so deep that he couldn't see them through it. 

The car flotta stopped and they organized the groups. The trolls were separated into two-member groups. He paired with Wendy and to his surprise Loki paired with Bain. For a moment he realized he wanted to talk to Loki but a sudden emotion wave distracted him. Everything's gone. Nothing will be the same again. He had to shook his head to silence the thought. Wherever it came from; they went through horrible losses and pain. Wendy grabbed his arm and pulled him after her. They were the second last to leave as Tove needed time to store the sudden emotion in him. They left the assembly point and left only one pair behind. Loki and Bain.

"So, we don't have any instruction left. This paper says 'help moving the destructed buildings'. No exact place. What do you think Bain? Where should we start?" Loki asked Bain but he was not paying attention. He was staring at Tove as he left and he still had a very bad feeling in his chest. He hated himself for doing that to that poor boy. 

"BAIN! Jesus, get your shit together." Loki smacked Bain's nape and the Markis immediately paid attention to the Vittra. 

"I'm sorry, Markis Loki. I'm not in my best shape today." He didn't trust the Vittra but he wasn't going to go against the Princess' will. She gave him amnesty so Bain had to learn how to work with him. 

"Drop the Markis. I'm actually the Vittra Prince you know? But you can call me Loki I don't need titles to earn respect." Loki started lifting up the heavy stones and Bain watched him an awe. The Vittra was really strong. He lifted up walls which weight tons. As he was feeling good-for-nothing he started piling up anything which seemed worth keeping and as soon as they worked through an area the things he left behind were usually gone.

They worked together as a team. Loki lifting the stones and Bain getting the stuff out of the remains. It went like that for a few hours. They didn't speak and Bain was grateful for that. He needed time to process what he saw. The pain and losses were huge and as it was his people who were murdered he was in a very depressed state. He blessed every God he knew that his sister was not in the city during the attack. He would hunt down every single hobgoblin one by one if they hurt his blood. As he thought about that his rage took over and he threw a big piece of - what it looked like - wall across the pile they were examining. 

"Has anyone told you yet that you probably have some Vittra blood?" Bain turned to Loki and nodded. He was glad that he got to talk about something and not think about the attack.

"Yeah... Tove... He said I probably have loads of potential as my grandfather was your kind." Loki nodded then only a few seconds later he burst out laughing. Bain looked at him in confusion and decided to ignore his loud laugh and went back to work only to stop right after Loki's next comment.

"You guys must have amazing sex,dude!"

Bain blushed a little and looked at the Vittra.

"What... What do you mean? Having sex with who?" Loki shook his head and stopped working.

"You and Tove? Bro... I'm not fucking blind. I can see how you are trying to get into his pants. You look at him as Leonardo DiCaprio would look at his Oscar if he had one."

Bain laughed out loud and he swore that his eyes were getting watery. 

"You... You think I fucked him? He's not even gay! He said it himself. He pushed me away because he's not interested in me. That's it. I tried but he's straight. Though I though he was attracted to me." Bain still couldn't understand why Tove was so mysterious. He let him very close and in the last moment he pushed him away.

"Well, I'm sure you'll get your chance. Because that guy is not straight and I'm sure of it. He was in the same bed with Wendy, almost naked, and never even touched her. And if that's not enough for you, he's staring at you all. The. Time. But you are one of a kind handsome guy. If I was gay I would watch you 24/7. But I'm not. But guess who is?" They both looked at Tove who was speaking to some woman with raggedy clothes and tears on her face. Old, dried ones but still tears.

Bain shrugged and went back to thinking. But this time he was thinking about Tove. Did he lie? Is he really gay? The things that Loki said made sense. Tove did look at him a lot. And they have this friction between them which wouldn't be there if Tove was not attracted to him. But why lie? Why would you lie about that. Especially when your own feelings were in danger.

That's when Bain realized something that broke his heart. Tove was afraid of love. He didn't know what to make out of his sudden feelings. He wants to please anyone but at the same time he can't please himself so he just gave up on his own happiness. It made Bain want to cuddle up to the Prince and never let go. 

The rest of the day were silent and issue free. The sunset were beautiful and the Markis admired the colors on the sky. He loved nature as most of the trolls do but as they prefer sunrise as it is the signal of the awakening of the world and all of its creatures he loved sunsets more. It was more powerful and its colors were more divine than any sunrise he had seen. The messenger of the darkness always seemed to be more enthralling than anything else.

As dinner came he got his own portion and sat on a bench with poor lightning. He wanted to be alone for a few minutes. The day was tiring and full of questions. He had his own thoughts about Tove and next to that he had to deal with the emotional roller coaster Oslinna built up in him. He knew he wanted revenge but he felt powerless. He couldn't boil off the Vittra from the face of Earth. He couldn't even boil a full bowl of liquid without struggle.

As he played with his thoughts his dinner slowly disappeared and only a few crumbles were left. He fed them to the birds and watched the night sky as nightly entertainment. He adored the sky's every form and he wanted to find some constellation above him but Loki disturbed him.

"I need you. Now." Bain was caught off guard as Loki grabbed him by his shoulder and put him on his feet. Without any questions he followed the Vittra to one of the few buildings that were not fully destroyed. They went up some damaged stairs and entered a corridor with several doors. Wendy was standing beside one with a worried expression. Behind the closed door he could hear things breaking and muttering. 

"Tove... He's so overwhelmed. You need to do something. He wouldn't hurt you but he almost hit Wendy and he doesn't trust me. So it leaves you whom he adore. You just need to calm him down and put him to sleep." Loki said like it was the easiest thing on the world.

"He hurt me once, remember? He almost broke my back! It hurt like hell. What if he does it again?"

"What if he does Bain? What if he does hurt you? Push you against a wall? What's the worst thing that could happen? You pass out maybe. You have Vittra blood in you. He can't kill you." Wendy looked confused and whispered 'Vittra?' under her breath but Loki ignored it. "But what if he hurts himself? He can hear all of the god damn suicidal death wishes. They are probably so hard he must feel them as his own. What if he got so confusedthat he kills himself? Would you let him do that?"

Bain needed a few seconds to realize Loki was totally right. He sent the two away just in case something went wrong and took a deep breath. He put his hands on the door knob and opened the door. 

Tove was standing a few steps besides the bed. His cape was waving widely but it was not sexy at all. It was scary. Tove's green eyes truned into an almost blackish color and his face looked full of terror.

"Go away!" he said and threw a vase across the room which flew right into the wall behind Bain. He swallowed hard and took a few small steps towards Tove.

"I'm not going away. I know I did it last time but I won't leave you now."

"LIAR!" Tove screamed and the little night table collapsed next to him. Bain was terrified of Tove but tried to smile and take some more steps. He was only a few away from him. 

"I'm not lying. You know why? Because you may not be gay but I'm still your friend. And you need me." 

"I don't need you! I don't need your help! You can't do anything to.." In that very moment Bain did the only thing he could think of and hugged him. He was close enough to do that and it was a very unpleasant situation as Tove tried to escape but he never let go. And Tove slowly relaxed and his breathing started to go normal again.

Bain held him tightly and suddenly he was not feeling the pressure as hard in his brain as before. All the thoughts he heard that day slowly cleared out of his head. Desperation. Suicide. Tears. Death. Losses. Memories of the attack. Flying objects. The black deepness in the auras. He couldn't feel it. The death and pain slowly faded away. 

He couldn't describe what he went through in few seconds. The exhaustion of his power's overusing made him lose control. He was not himself and turned against Wendy. He wanted to hit her because of his emotions blended with the survivors' thoughts who were mad at them. They didn't help them and they were not able to do so anyways. They couldn't bring back the dead. 

He knew that could have happened but never in his wildest dreams he thought he would change so much under all these depressing thoughts. He was ashamed of himself. All he did was trying to help as much as he could and the only thing he reached was losing his mind completely. 

Tove's eyes started watering and slowly wrapped his arms around Bain's waist and buried his face in his neck. He swore to God when they left Förening that he would stop interacting with the Markis. He knew he was making a mistake but he needed Bain more than anything in that moment. He had to cry on someone's shoulder and that's what he did. 

Tove cried and cried for long minutes. It felt like days for the Prince. Bain's shirt was damp from the tears rolling down Tove's cheeks but the Markis just held him and put his head on the smaller boy's and tugged on his hair softly. As Tove murmured incoherent words Bain just made sure he felt safe and Tove couldn't be more happy about that. He didn't want to speak at all. He just wanted to sleep and forget the whole day.

Without any word said, Bain loosened his grip on the boy and placed his hands on his shoulders. Tove sniffled back some tears he had left. Bain gave him a heart broken smile. He hated seeing Tove suffering so much. He didn't deserve this life. He was way too good for this world. He sighed and wiped away a single tear running down Tove's face. 

"You should go to sleep. You must be tired." Bain whispered not wanting to broke their confidential connection they just build between each other. Tove nodded sloppily and kicked off his shoes before falling into the pillows. His eyes started to fill with tears again and Bain's heart ached of the sight. He stepped to the bed and grabbed the blanket and out it on Tove in case he got cold. It was likely as it was winter. 

"Stay with me!" muttered Tove without thinking. Bain was surprised but shook his head. He knew the boy only wanted him because he was devastated and in the morning he would flip out. The only thing he allowed himself to do was pressing his lips to Tove's warm forehead. God he wanted to feel the boys skin against his so much. 

"I can't. I'm sorry. You'll understand my decision when you wake up."

With that said he walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. He leaned onto it ruffled his hair a bit. He wanted to stay with the Prince in the room. He wanted to make sure he sleeps well but he couldn't. He got his left over power together and went to his own bed. He was exhausted and he felt more confused than ever. Tove was about to flip his whole world upside down and it made him fell asleep with a smile on his face.


	5. Go crazy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Tove's fit mean anything? Will Bain and him just forget about how the Markis was the only person able to stop him from doing something serious damage?

Tove woke up with the worst headache of his life. The pain numbed his brain to a point where his thoughts were fuzzy but he could remember that he... Well, he behaved hysteric and hurt Wendy. His best friend, ally and most importantly; his wife. His heart broke by just thinking what could've happened if Loki didn't show up. What could've happened if he didn't bring Markis Bain with him...

Tove frowned and tugged on his hair. How could he be so stupid? He let Bain know about his feelings towards him. Even if they were not strong nor once in a life time emotions, they were there and real. And he wasn't supposed to let them out. It was embarrassing for him as he sent Bain away and told him he's not gay. Then suddenly he was begging for him to stay the night with him. It was way more awkward than he imagined it to be. 

He tried to gather up himself as much as he could but when he looked in the small mirror hanging beside the dresser he had the most exhausted look he had ever seen. Not just on himself but in general. The bags under his eyes were almost matching the darkness of his hair and that mentioned hair was disheveled to a point where he just gave up on it straight away. He was not looking forward to that day. He had to avoid Bain all day while trying to fight the guilt within him. He was disappointed in himself. He was the worst Prince ever.

There was a knock on the door and Tove sighed. He thought of ignoring the call but eventually he'll need to face his fears and actually talk to someone. He went to open the door and when he did Tove stood right in front of Wendy. Before the girl could say anything the boy started apologizing straight away.

"Wendy! I'm so sorry! I don't deserve your forgiveness but... I just want you to know that I never wanted to hurt you. I never should have come here. I'm your husband and you deserve better. And I'll try harder for your and the Kingdom's sake." His voice sounded like the most heartbreaking one Wendy's ever heard. Tove's guilt was clearly visible and it made her sad. It was not his fault. It was only his powers and the total exhaustion that made him go crazy. 

Not mentioning that Wendy couldn't think of accusing Tove with anything, after... Well, after she slept with Loki. She cheated on her husband. Right after he lost his mind and needed support. Wendy just left him without any supervision. She thought of that as a failure. She failed as a wife and as a friend. And seeing Tove so desperate for forgiveness left her feeling like shit.

"I'm not mad at you, Tove. I know you didn't mean to."

"No, you don't get it! It was dangerous! It shouldn't have happened. I'm going crazy!"Tove cried out and Wendy's heart ached. She pulled the boy into a hug who sniffled slightly and melted into his wife's arms. His life was meant to be short but he just realized how short it will be. 

He'll never find love. He'll never have kids. He'll never get the chance to talk about the good ol' times with his friends because he will be dead or crazy by the time they could actually call it old times. It hurt him like crazy and the pain in his body suddenly became bearable but the one in his brain was slowly killing him. He let go of Wendy and wiped his tears away.

"We should... Get something to eat." They headed down the stairs and targeted the big tent where the temporary dining area took place. The walk was silent and Tove was grateful for that. He didn't wanna talk. They were on good terms again with Wendy but he had to figure out a lot and the silence helped him. Walking around without hearing or seeing anything was strange but relieving. The devastation was nowhere to be heard and it let his own thoughts flowing freely.

But before he could started getting lost in them they entered the rows of tables and benches. Tove almost immediately spotted him. Bain was sitting with Loki and the two men were discussing something in a very secretive way. But Bain looked up as he had probably heard the two entering. He smiled at Tove and waved at him which put him into a very awkward situation. He could choose between sitting with them and trying to avoid the Markis or ignoring them and then listening to the gossiping about him being rude to his sworn in nobles. As there was not really a choice he sighed and went to grab some bread and eggs with a cup of tea and Wendy did the same. Tove waited for her and both of them stared at the table where the two man sat at.

"You know... I don't know what happened last night but... If you want, we can eat somewhere else" Wendy didn't seem keen to have breakfast with Loki and that surprised Tove who was well aware of their love affair. Her not wanting to be with him was quite odd.

"No... It's okay. I can handle it." It was a lie, he was not going to deny, but he was a prince, the heir for the throne and he couldn't let some silly crush ruining his image. 

Realizing what he was thinking Tove blushed very hard. He did have a crush on Bain. It was strange actually admitting that he was crushing hard on Markis Bain. Some people tend to behave like they knew it before him but Tove just realized in that moment that he wanted the man in his life so bad.

As they made their way to the table his stomach made some backflips, at least it felt like it, and he didn't know why is that such a big deal suddenly. He was attracted to Bain in the first place and it shouldn't be a big surprise that he started crushing on him after the way the young Markis flirted with him; and most importantly stopped his mental breakdown. 

"Good morning to the royal couple! What a lovely sunrise, isn't it?" Loki greeted them and Tove uncomfortably took place next to Bain as he wanted Wendy to sit with Loki. He thought he was doing the right thing but the look Wendy gave him made him wonder about his decision. She did not look happy but accepted the situation and dropped herself on the bench.

"Morning..." They both mumbled and started eating in silence. Tove could feel the Markis staring at him but he just ignored it. He didn't want to talk to him. But it seemed like Loki had an other idea about that. 

"So... Who's going to talk about last night?" 

The air suddenly filled with silence around their table and Tove awkwardly shifted a little bit further away from Bain. The Vittra was highly amused by that.

"Oh, Tove. That's okay, we get it. Bain is a handsome fella. It's not a shame if you have a tiny little crush on him. I'm sure he doesn't mind the attention." 

Bain's lips curled into a wide smile and his cheeks turned a little bit red but Tove might have just imagined that. 

"Yesterday night only happened because my powers were playing with my mind..." 

Tove tried to explain the situation in a calm manner as him losing control over his emotions usually turned out pretty badly. But Loki didn't seem to care about that as he cut in his words.

"Oh, I'm sure your mind wanted to play with something else. Or someone else."

That was enough for Tove. He didn't owe explanation to anyone. He was a Prince after all. He could have just left when Bain waved at him but he tried to be nice. But being nice was getting on his nerves so he stood up and simply left the table without actually eating all of his food. He hated Loki in that moment. Not because of false accusation but because Tove knew he was right. He had a crush on Bain, he wanted him in a way he couldn't even explain and it was too much in that very moment. He had so much to worry about that he didn't care about love. At least... He didn't want to care about it.

As Tove left the tent the table was silent for a moment then Bain sighed. 

"Thank you so much Loki. That totally worked! Now he hates you AND me. Perfect."

The Vittra was still full on smiling and Bain was annoyed by that. Stupid Vittra and his bluntness. 

"Oh, he doesn't hate you. He likes you. You're everything he's never had and he wants you. He just needs time. He's already falling for you. It's ridiculous what a little flirting can cause. Just continue what you already started and he's gonna run after you in no time."

"Tove's never going to run after Bain." the Princess laughed sarcastically and looked straight into Bain's eyes totally avoiding Loki. "If you want him, go and get him. Tell Tove what do you want. Tell him that you think he's amazing and beautiful and all that bullshit. He's afraid of emotions because they played with him for so long. So decide if you want him or not. Because he's not gonna take any steps towards you. And if you decide to fight for him, you better fucking stay with him because if not; I'm gonna break every single one of your bones and bury you alive. Because Tove is my best friend. And he deserves the best. Now decide, Markis; are you going after him or not?"

Bain took it under consideration for a moment. Did he really want to try things out with Tove? What if the Prince rejects him? He was not sure that Tove wanted to date him, or just sleep with him. But he decided that he didn't care. He wanted the boy; for just one night or years. He wanted him. 

So he went after Tove. It was hard to find him. Oslinna was still filled with remains of the buildings and the trolls who used to live in them were in a devastated state of mind. They were going through the lumbers to find a destroyed or useless object that reminded them of nice memories. That only caused more crying and depression which was sad but Bain was getting annoyed of it. He hated the conditions these poor people had to live in. They lost everything and still had days left until they could leave the town and move into the Palace in Förening. 

Wondering through the half destroyed city was sobering for Bain. He got the chance to think through what he wanted. Not just from Tove but from himself. He wanted to do something helpful. He wanted to increase his powers. 

While getting lost in his thoughts he didn't realize that Tove was standing right on the corner where he was about to cross the damaged road. 

"So you followed me?" Bain jumped a little but turned around to face the Prince. 

"Well, I suppose. I'm here after all."

Tove couldn't hear any thoughts coming from him nor he could see his aura. That was not a surprise. Bain seemed to block him out of his mind. He was getting used to it-

"What do you want from me? Why can't you just leave me alone?" Tove asked and watched as Bain stepped closer to him. They were really close by the time Bain answered the questions.

"You know exactly what I want. You. And you want me. Gay or not. Yesterday you asked me to stay. And I didn't out of all respect. I know you're struggling with your feelings but..." Bain hesitated a moment. Unsure what to say, he grabbed Tove's slightly smaller hands and looked deeply in his stunning green eyes. 

"I'm asking for a chance. To show you... Affection. Because you are amazing. And I know you hate it when I flirt with you because you don't wanna get attached. But I like you. And I'm willing to try breaking down your walls. Even if it takes years." Tove stared at the Markis for an almost uncomfortably long time. He was not sure how to react. He did want Bain, but not then and there. He wanted to wait. It was not the right time for romance. And Bain should knew that.

"I am not searching for a partner in the moment. Even if I was... I'm married. It would cause so much trouble to me, you or anyone else I choose. I don't want that. You need to understand that I'm not in the situation to live an average teenager boy's life."

Tove wanted to let go of Bain's hands but the older man gripped him almost painfully hard.

"You don't get it. We don't have to date. We don't have to be a couple. I just want you. I want you to know I'm here for you if you need anything."

Tove's jaw dropped when he realized what did Bain say. 

"You... you piece of shit. I don't sleep around. I'm not a slut! I don't know what was I thinking? That you would be different than the others? Every men want the same; sex. But I thought the noble Markis Bain, the Skojare descendant, the water boiler would be different. Oh, how stupid can one be?"

Tove was furious. Bain just offered to fuck him. Because that's what people do. Sleep around, hurting each other's feelings. Flirting with you, making you fall hard for them. They care about you. Until they get you on your knees or in their bed. After that, you're just another name on their list. A story to tell to their mates. Tove was genuinely disgusted by the Markis.

"What? No! That's not what I meant. I just... I just wanted to say that I'm here for you if you need someone..."

Tove couldn't hear through his rage and before Bain could explain what he really meant he felt sudden pressure all over his body.His clothes were getting tight around his body, very tight. The feeling was uncomfortable first, but then he couldn't breath properly as the shirt he was wearing wouldn't let his chest raise. He couldn't move underneath his clothes. It felt like he was being crashed. It was way beyond scary. It was terrifying. Bain soon gasped for air and fell into his knees. His vision became blurry and the pressure was slowly crushing his limbs.

The young Markis looked at Tove who stared back at him with a blank expression. Bain was praying that he would stop. He only wanted to talk to the boy and now he's getting crashed by his own clothes. It was not a good day for the Markis anyway, as when he woke up he couldn't stop thinking about Tove and wanted to visit him as soon as possible to make sure he was alright. But he met Loki first and the Vittra said Tove probably didn't want to see him which made sense to the Markis. So he waited for Tove and oh boy, he wished he ran straight to his room that morning. Maybe all of this wouldn't have happened.

"T....Tove..." Bain tried to call out the Prince's name and it seemed to work as the pressure weakened. Slowly, his body became free and his breathing came back to normal.

"I'm... I'm so sorry Bain! I was... I was really mad and I didn't think... It was a mistake I swear I'm so sorry!" Tove was stuttering during his apology and his hand was shaking as he tried to help the Markis up from the ground but the latter pushed him away and stood up on his own.

"No! I get it, you don't want anything from me. And I wasn't offering sex. Well, I wouldn't complain if you wanted some but I was talking about... I don't even know. Emotional support I guess. That I would be there for you no matter what. I tried to be nice. But you know what? I don't care! This thing... Its too much. I don't wanna risk my life just to "try". You're not cute enough to make it worth!"

Bain was enraged and the hatred in his eyes brought tears into Tove's eyes. He messed it up. Bain actually had interest in him and vice versa. But Tove had to act like an immature 12 year old who had no idea about anything. And the most important part is that he hurt Bain. And this time it was serious. He could've killed him. Because he misunderstood the Markis. But he's paying for his mistake by watching Bain walking away from him with fast steps. Not even looking back at the boy who stood all alone in the middle of a destroyed city with tears in his eyes. 

If the day was not exhausting enough they had to head back to Förening that night. Tove was not looking forward to that. He was tired and full of thoughts and questions. Many would think a long car ride would provide enough time to answer these questions but sadly they were rhetorical ones. Will they win the war? Will he ever get full control over his power? Will Bain forgive him anytime soon? 

He had no answers. But he had no time to wonder about these things because the sun was already going down and he's done nothing all day except wondering around pretending to do work and turning around when he saw Bain somewhere. It was pathetic but he couldn't face him after what happened. It was too much of a shame for him. 

He went into his temporary room, packed his stuff and left the rather small room with a bit of a sigh leaving his lips. He felt so close to Bain in the past few days and all of a sudden that thing just crashed down and he regretted every opportunity he could've used to be with the Markis. But he's stupid and didn't realize he had tons of chances. He just decided to put everything before his happiness and now he's practically left with nothing.

As he approached the assembly point he spotted the cars they came with. Some of them already had bags and boxes in them but some were empty so he was not late. He threw his bag in their black SUV and looked around maybe he could find someone familiar. His mother was walking towards him, but she was entertained by an older Trylle who was obviously very handsome and Tove rolled his eyes. Her mother's beauty was outstanding even within the trolls so her getting special attention from males was not unusual. But Aurora was loyal to her husband so she just used these men for her own entertainment. Tove sometimes felt sick of the thoughts these men had about his mother but he couldn't say anything about it. 

"Hey!" a deep manly voice disturbed his thoughts but as soon as he turned to face the voice's owner he blushed and could only answer with a muffled hi.

"I'm... I don't think I owe you an apology but I feel like I do. I'm sorry about the things I said this morning." Bain shifted a bit closer to Tove and leaned onto the car. Tove looked up at him and the man already had him wrapped around his finger.

"The one who should apologize like... thousand times more is me. You've done nothing wrong. Most of what you said is true anyway."

Bain's heart dropped by the things Tove said. He didn't mean any of that. He was mad and terrified because who wouldn't be when someone they like wanted to crush them into breadcrumbs? It's not something you need to handle on an every day basis. It's normal to flip out but he had his time and now he could think straight. And he realized he was too harsh on Tove.

"No, no, no" Bain grabbed Tove's hand and stood right in front of the Prince. Tove looked at their entwined fingers and tried to process what was going on. A few hours ago he almost killed Bain and now the man is trying to comfort him. Bain. Comforting. Tove. Tove. Being comforted. By Bain. The man he tried to kill. Is comforting him.

"I'm sorry I flipped out. I'm new to murder attempts against me. I didn't mean any of that bullshit I said. You worth trying. You deserve it. And I will try to get to you. Because yes, you are cute enough. No, you are way more than cuter. You are the most gorgeous creature I've ever seen in my life and I'm willing to wait as much as you want me to."

Tove giggled and that made Bain smile. He never heard the Prince giggle like that before. He always looked serious or amused but never truly happy. But in that moment he was smiling while looking down at their hands and God, Bain wanted to kiss him so bad. He didn't even care that Tove's mother was a few meters away or that some trolls were already looking at them with suspicion. He wanted Tove to be his and it was happening. Slowly but the boy couldn't deny his feelings anymore. Bain wouldn't let that happen. 

Before Bain could lose all of his self-control and attack Tove's lips the young boy took his hands out of his and pushed him away a little bit.

"That's... Really nice of you Markis Bain. I appreciate that but further discussion may be needed." 

Tove looked into his eyes with a special look that explained the sudden mood change. Bain cursed silently which made the younger boy smile. The Markis' thirst for him was ridiculous in Tove's eyes. But at the same time it flattered him. 

"Oh, yes. When the time comes this subject will have to be discussed in proper conditions."

Tove smiled at him and in that moment Aurora joined them.

"Markis Bain, Prince Tove! I'm glad that we finally meet while none of us is injured. I hope you two are on good terms."

Aurora sent a warning look towards Tove. He knew she was kind of mad at him because he hurt the Markis. But he had his reasons and now they are on... very special terms. Very special and very good terms.

"Yes, we are. We're quite good friends if I can say that, my Prince." Bain's wide smile almost made Tove laugh because they were fooling his mum and that was something he loved to do.

"Definitely. But Aurora, where is Wendy and the others?"

"Oh, yes. The Princess said she needs to find the Vittra. After that they're coming straight here and we'll take off." 

Tove nodded and a few minutes were spent in silence as no one knew what to say. Until Wendy arrived with Duncan, Loki and 5 other trolls. 

"Listen up people! I need Loki, Bain, Tove and Aurora in the SUV and the others can go with the left over cars. When we get home I want you all to have some rest. After that we need to continue sheltering the refugees from Oslinna and training everyone with any power. Have a safe trip everyone!"

Aurora wanted to drive the way back home, and she insisted that Wendy must sit with Tove in the back seat so Loki took the passenger seat. Bain had the seat behind Aurora and Tove sat in the middle with Wendy on his left. Of course that whole sitting was a big set up as Tove knew it already. Loki was thinking really seriously about how to get him and Bain a little bit cozy with each other without Aurora noticing it.

Tove was entertained by the amount of effort Loki was willing to make just for Tove and Bain to sit next to each other. But he did the job so after a few minutes Tove leaned his head on Bain's shoulder as it was just an accident while he was falling asleep. He could hear Loki going wild in his mind when he noticed it. After long minutes Bain slowly grabbed Tove's hand and the young boy really had to fight back his smile while weakly tightening his fingers around Bain's big hand. It felt amazing to have Bain's body heat against his. To just feel his calming presence next to him.

For once in his life he had someone who actually cared about him. Not because he was the Prince or a powerful Markis; but because someone thought he deserved being taken care of just because he existed. And he missed that so much.


	6. The Painting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Problems seem to love appearing in Förening. But can our heroes solve them? Maybe with a bit of help they can get some plus time to figure out their plan.

Tove woke up slightly confused in the back of the car, still leaning onto Bain who seemed to had fallen asleep as well. They were still on the road but as he looked out of the car window the surroundings seemed familiar and more Förening like. Tove tried to wake himself up a little bit without disturbing the silent peace of the car. He looked to his other side where Wendy was staring out of the window with a thoughtful expression on her face. He felt sorry for her. She was young, only spent few months in the troll world and tried her best to become a decent princess. Tove was not gonna lie, she failed quite a lot with appearing as a heartless, cold and powerful princess. But she was not an ordinary Trylle. She was the revolution for the Trylle tribe which was really needed. Wendy cared, she wanted to help and risked her own life for others while showing that she's not superior. She showed everyone that it's okay to be unsure about yourself. It's okay to make shitty decisions. You can make it work even if you're really deep into the chaos. That's why Tove loved her so much. That's why he was willing to sacrifice himself for her. Because if something was worth dying for it was Wendy, the tribe and the new era that would begin if they won.

Tove smiled softly as Bain reached for his hand in his sleep. He let the Markis entwine their fingers. As he was not interacting with anyone their auras basically shone around him. Tove took a quick glance at Loki's and Aurora's uncomfortable yellow-red combination as they highly despised each other. It was ridiculous as Loki was playing on his phone and Aurora was driving so they were not even talking but still managed to hate on the other. Tove looked back at Bain who now stared back at him. As soon as the two made eye contact Bain put on a sleepy smile and gave a little kiss to Tove's forehead. He couldn't resist but blush slightly and cover his face in Bain's shoulder. He was praying deep inside that his mom was not watching them. She probably couldn't see a thing if she looked in the mirror but who knows what was she capable of.

After the little embarrassment he looked back at Bain who now had a bright smile on. His aura was still glowing around him as they didn't talk so Tove took the chance to admire the deep blue flow around the man's figure. He enjoyed the complexity of Bain's aura. He was not blocking out Tove's power for the younger boy's relief. His aura was processing emotions in a very unique way. Auras usually change their whole color, mixing with other auras, mixing colors within themselves and just behaving like a drunk rainbow in general. Bain's on the other hand showed little spots of colors, not big ones. Tiny little ones, around the size of a glitter or sparkle flake. You couldn't see them if you stood in a normal, chatting distance but leaning right into this deep blueness allowed Tove to see the thousands of little spots appearing in pink, green, red and blue. His aura almost sparkled on its own and Tove was lost in the special texture for a long time. So long that he forgot he was staring blankly at the Markis who started to feel weird.

"Umm... Tove? Are you okay?"

The question made the aura slightly faded as it was waiting for Tove's reply to be totally dismissed. He sighed and whispered:

"I'm alright. I'm just... Really tired. I need a bed."

Bain smiled and leaned close to Tove's ear. The younger boy's breath hitched as the Markis pressed his lips on the skin close to his ear.

"Oh, I'm sure we won't need a bed. That'd be boring."

Tove didn't know what to say. In fact he was a little bit too disturbed to think as Bain was slowly kissing down on his neck, not making any sound but leaving a wet trail on his skin. His thoughts were getting fuzzy and he got a bit worried that they were in a car and Bain was trying to get him into the mood while his mother was driving about 40 centimeters away from them. His thoughts were racing inside him as Bain bit down gently on his skin then sucked on the damaged area. He thought they're taking it slow and not hurry things but the fact that Bain's hand now stroked his thigh made him wonder if that was actually true. It felt really wrong. The whole "sort of making out" in the back of the car was not what Tove wanted. He wanted to clarify his feelings but with Bain making him slightly uncomfortable in his jeans was only clarifying one thing; his incredible want to be totally ruined by the Markis who was obviously willing to do that.

But Tove was really not ready for that and as the man got closer to his crotch area the back lights on the car suddenly exploded. The noise made Bain jump off of Tove as Aurora and Loki both looked back. Wendy jumped a little and shoot a warning look at Tove and Bain. The Prince felt the urge to dig himself a hole and just hide in there for the next few... decades. He forgot that Wendy was awake and probably noticed what was going on as she was sitting right next to Tove who had serious breathing issues from the sudden lust that took over his whole body.

"What on Earth was that? Is that a new attack or something? Are they going to hunt us down on our way home? Blowing our lights out? ..." Aurora complained for a few minutes and Loki just stared at the three people on the backseat. It seemed like he got a message from Wendy by telepathy about what happened as he all of a sudden smiled widely and winked at the two men. Tove felt rather intimidated because he's gonna get teased a lot because of this.

They turned into the road that led to Förening and the city's lights were already visible. He decided to distance himself from Bain a bit. Not because he didn't like being close to him; but because he had to rethink their relationship. What they had was not natural nor healthy in his eyes. Bain making moves on him all the time was not what he wished for. He didn't know what he wanted to become with the Markis but that was obviously not something he needed.

As they reached the palace Tove really wanted to get away from the man for a while. It was not that he didn't like being with Bain. It was the fact that he had to focus on the greater problems and had no time for his silly crush. The car stopped and Tove jumped out of it almost crushing into Wendy but he didn't get too far. Willa stood in the door way blocking the entrance.

"Guys... You should come with me."

She sounded really worried and Tove heard her thoughts but not loud enough to make anything out of it.

"Can it wait? I'm exhausted." Wendy whined but Tove turned to her.

"No. It's serious. Show us" Wendy sighed but realized the situation's seriousness as she realized Willa must have been so disturbed the Prince could hear her thoughts.

They walked through the castle which, despite the late hour, was filled with trackers and trolls running around. They shouldn't be up but there was so much to do and so little time. No one really paid attention to their little group but who did, only nodded or murmured a "Princess" or "Prince" and continued what they were doing. 

Wendy's breath hitched as she recognized the door which led to Elora's paintings. Her mother was already i na very bad condition and if she painted a new picture it meant her days were literally counted. And as she dies Wendy needs to fight her father, the Vittra King, which she was not prepared for. Not at all.

Willa opened the door and some people were already gathered around a pretty big picture. As they got closer to the canvas all of them froze in shock. It showed them scattered around the War Room. Dead. With Wendy's father in the middle.

"It can't be" Bain spoke up. "It can't be true. He can not come here and do THIS!"

"He can. And he will." Loki turned to Wendy with a worried look on his face. "We need to figure out something. As soon as Elora dies he'll come here, claim the throne as you promised and kill everyone."

"I know. But... I..." Wendy took a shaky breath like she wanted to hold back her cries. "Everyone needs some sleep. We'll.. figure something out tomorrow. Go. I'm staying with the Queen." Willa took things into her hands and ordered the small crowd to leave. Everyone stayed for a lingering moment but slowly disappeared. Tove was not sure where to go so he decided to head to the sleeping chamber he and Wendy shared. The boy took a hot shower and tried to get his mind straight. Nothing added up in his mind and he was exhausted. The realness of the war became overwhelming. He knew there was only two ending to this story and it was either dying or living and that made him anxious and terribly sick. He tried to hide it as well as he could but the heavy weights on his heart made it impossible to make the despair in his eyes. The weights of living dragged him into this melancholic mood that didn't seem to be going anywhere anytime soon.

A knock on the door dragged him out of his thoughts and he cursed under his breath. Tove wrapped a towel around his waist in a hurry and rushed to the door. He locked it for safety reasons and because he knew Wendy wasn't going to sleep with him that night. She wanted to spend as much time as he could with her mother. Tove knew that without Wendy saying anything about her plans. It was only common sense plus a little mind trick. The knock raised awareness for a few seconds but he shrugged it off. It couldn't be a threat and even if it was; he had his powers. So he opened the door, ready to fight in nothing but a piece of textil around his lower regions.

"Bain!" Tove went red because he didn't expect the Markis. He thought the man must have went home. But he didn't. He was staring at the Prince who was naked, wet and had his dark hair in slick curls. It was the most beautiful thing the man had ever seen and stared at the view in front of him shamelessly.

"What... What do you want? It's a bit late for visiting." Tove stuttered and Bain just snickered.

"Well, I just wanted to talk to you. I can wait for a bit if you'd like."

"Umm... Sure. Take... take a seat wherever you'd like. I'll just change into something." Bain nodded and sat down on a big antic chair. Tove rushed back to the bathroom where he already had his shirt and boxer he was normally sleeping in. He dried himself and his hair too, not caring that it took a little bit more time. Bain choose a really inconvenient time to visit and so Tove will let him know. Plus it was Bain after all. He didn't want to look like a wet dog in front of him.

When he finished up himself Tove walked out but put on one of the hanging bath robes before leaving the bathroom. The silky green material felt nice but worth nothing in actual warming. But that was not why he wore it. Tove simply didn't want to discuss anything with Bain in a pair of boxers and a little bit oversized T-shirt.

"So what do you want to talk about?" Tove stood awkwardly in front of the man. Bain stood up and looked down at his shoes.

"I want to say sorry for my behavior in the car. It was an unnecessary risk and... a mistake. I know you wanted to go slow and I... I threw myself at you. It was all but fair."

Tove chuckled and stepped closer to the Markis. They were still a few steps away but the air got a bit hotter around them. That seemed to happen a lot.

"I feel like all you do is making moves then apologizing for them and after a few hours you repeat that. It's getting boring. I thought it was obvious that I don't mind your moves. As long as they're a little bit more on the private side. Plus it was not safe with the Vittra and my wife in the car. Not even mentioning my mother." Bain seemed to think about what Tove said. Without saying anything he went towards the door and Tove thought he's leaving but the Markis closed the door and locked it from the inside. For some reason that made Tove's heart beat faster. The man turned around with a playful grin and slowly walked towards the green eyed boy.

"So you're saying if I do that to you now, you would have no problems with it?" As the gap closed between them at a slow pace Tove felt more and more dizzy. He was not sure if he really wanted this whole thing but Bain's presence made him go insane. Not even a single straight thought came out of his brain as Bain reached him and wrapped his arms around him.

"I... I guess..." Tove stared into Bain's blue eyes and the older seemed to be quite amused with the reaction he was getting out of Tove.

"You're cute when you're trembling." The Markis gazed down to the slightly parted lips of Tove. The urge to attach their lips flooded his mind once again. He leaned in and closed his eyes while drawing Tove closer. Their bodies were closer than ever, pushed against each other, feeling every little movement and breath. Tove felt Bain's hard heart beat and his body heat against his chest. The feeling was like a drug. It felt bad, forbidden and dirty but at the same time it was the most amazing and exciting thing on Earth. Tove never felt like this before. He wanted to kiss Bain more than anything. The Markis was almost toxic but oh, so good. They both wanted more but just before they could fulfill their desires something struck Tove. They were in his bedroom that he shared with Wendy. His wife. He couldn't possibly make out with Bain in the same bedroom where he was supposed to do the same with Wendy. It was wrong.

"I'm.... I'm sorry, I can't..." Tove pulled away, breaking the intimacy and Bain sighed.

"What now? We were so close!" Bain's frustration brought a smile on Tove's face. He really loved the way Bain was not afraid to tell what was on his mind but at the same time he could keep the coldest, most emotionless appearance whenever he needed to.

"I know, and I swear I want to but not... here." Tove motioned to the bed and Bain sighed.

"Of course. I get it. You're way too good for an affair. My precious Prince." Bain hugged the boy who just smiled against the man's chest. He was lucky that Bain understood his decision without any explanation.

"Well, if your Highness is done with me I'd like to go home. It was a tiring few days and Oslinna was not a great place for relaxation."

Tove hesitated for a moment. Did he really want Bain to leave? After all Wendy was definitely not coming to sleep in there so in theory he had the room to himself.

"If you want... You can stay."

Bain seemed a little bit taken aback by the suggestion. Maybe because of how Tove asked him the same when he lost it in Oslinna. He didn't stay back then because he was not sure it was really Tove who wanted him there. But now it was no question it really was him.

"So you don't mind sleeping together but kissing is a no-no? You're a weirdo." 

They shared a laugh then Tove left Bain's still embracing arms and made his way to the bed. On the way he got out of the robe and as a sudden decision he teasingly took his shirt off and casually threw it on the floor. He was extremely confident with his body because let's face it; trolls were naturally gifted with beauty that they embraced in their culture. But it didn't mean they were not influenced by looks. Quite the opposite actually. Beauty in its purest form was a natural turn on for most trolls. By purest form they mean the simple body, face and all those little things that makes someone beautiful. A few well-placed birthmark or light freckles. The way someone's hair curls. Tove knew that all too well. 

As Tove fell softly onto the bed and turned to face the Markis he noticed Bain was stuck in his place. 

"Is there a problem?" The young boy asked suddenly anxious about what he had suggested.

"No. Well, yes. We can't risk getting caught. Plus... I don't think that would be right. I have to leave but... We will certainly meet tomorrow. I need some help to maximize my powers. If you wouldn't mind me asking for a bit help." 

Bain looked pretty worried which scared Tove. The Markis always seemed to be confident, almost cocky. He expected him to be on top of everything. The war must have taken a lot out of his strength. 

"Yeah, sure. Meet me about 11 at the small pond at the back of the castle's garden."

Bain nodded and left the room. Tove fell down on his back and stared at the high ceiling. This war is getting too much to handle. He was not sure about what he wanted anymore. 

After a night full of thinking and little to no sleeping Tove was a bit grumpy as he walked down to the pond. He was ready to help Bain but not ready to stay awake. If he could just transfer his thoughts into the Markis' brain while he was sleeping. He wished.

When he arrived Bain was already standing next to the beautiful deep blue lake. He was wearing grey sweatpants that clung to his legs on all the right places. He paired it with a white tank top and a matching grey jersey. He looked amazing even in those very simple clothes. Tove took a moment to look over his own outfit and cringed deep inside because let's face it. He was so used to wearing designer suits and capes that he almost forgot he could wear normal clothes. But he was at least looking elegant. 

"Good morning! Did you sleep well?" Bain asked quite cheerfully. Tove smiled and shook his head.

"I was very.... Occupied with my thoughts." Tove smiled lightly and took a deep breath. But let's get right into it. Show me what is the most powerful thing you can do. Anything."

Bain cringed but looked intensely at the water. Tove was curious to find out what he's going to do and after a minute or so the water started waving. The Prince stood there in awe as the water rose from the lake as a pillar and stayed in the air as Bain held his hand in the direction of it. The column didn't last longer then a few minutes, 5 at top. Then Bain sighed and let the water back into the lake.

"That pretty much is all I can do. I get really... Unfocused. My thoughts slip away from my power and it gets a bit blurry until I lose control and the water just... Goes back to its original place and form. Same with boiling and freezing. Freezing is a bit easier because it's frozen I think. It can't just melt back in no time but boiling will just stop and the vapor condenses pretty fast."

Tove nodded. "So you understand the physics of your power, that's very good and important. Lots of trolls don't understand that even the most surreal powers demand knowledge of their roots. Your problem is the focusing part. I know it can be really hard but here's a tip for you. If you think of something that you would literally die for and put that passion into your focus you will be able to get a better grip on the core of your energy. I like to think about the troll culture. I fight for that to survive. That's my motivation. What's yours?"

Tove was proud of himself. He was not the very best at expressing his thoughts but with Bain it seemed quite easy. It felt easy. For once in his life socializing was not a burden. 

"So I just need to think of something I am passionate about?"

"Well... Yes. Basically." Tove's sudden confidence disappeared because he could've just said that instead of all the rambling about the 'core of energy' and the other stuff. He just stared at the Markis instead of getting deep into his own thoughts. 

He went really deep. He searched for that one thing that could motivate him enough. All his life he got to know so many people he would die for. He was popular in his human life due to his powers not being that strong and being placed in a billionaire Australian family. He loved it there. They lived in Queensland so he surfed a lot and that's how he found out about his water moving power. He was first terrified but later he used it for his advantage and became a professional at the age of 15 but that's when his family moved to New Zealand and had to give up surfing. They lived in a mansion far away from big cities and close to Lake Taupo. He earned tons of friends as he was really chill and fit in well with others. He had around three best friends who until this day tried to contact him but he was already risking a lot so he never replied. He would take more than one bullet for them. He got tracked at the age of 19 and ever since he was successful in the Trylle tribe. He built lasting relationship with his mansklig who made sure that Bain's human family knows he is well and not hurt. He climbed the ladder to the Minister of Changeling Placement pretty fast by getting to know all the trolls in the ruling apartment. He knew every little information about every troll in the parliament. In other words he was popular. It made the whole decision much harder. He had to find a thing he was passionate about. The problem was, he was passionate about everything he'd ever done. 

Thinking about it he realized how much he could imagine himself having the same motivation as Tove. He wanted his people to be safe more than anything. It was like a duty. Everything he ever wanted or wished to do required the tribe's survival. 

He thought about that as he turned to the water again and focused on the water. Every single brain cell was nearly attached to the clear water in the pond. Bain imagined how the lake was slowly freezing. It was cold at first but it slowly turned into a slim layer of ice in top of the water. As the water cooled fódown further the ice became thicker and thicker. As the Markis imagined all that it became reality and the water was already 5 inches thick. As he tried to get further the ice just wouldn't expand for him. He tried to grip the images in his head as he slipped out of focus but he couldn't get back into the zone and as the last mental image dissappeared he groaned out in frustration.

Tove watched as the ice lingered and slowly melted back into liquid. It took at least 10 minutes and while the ice did its job Tove tried to calm down Bain.

"It's okay it takes a bit of time and practice to..." As he wanted to continue Bain cut him off.

"We don't have time! And I don't want to have loads of practice! I've been practicing for at least 12 years. I should be able to control it way better than most of the Trylle who can't even use theirs. But I'm stuck in this stupid state where a fucking 20-year-old is the master of all mmind control. What are you, some sort of magic freak?" Bain shouted very angrily at the Prince who tried not to tear up at the word 'freak'. It reminded him of the old days where the other kids would call him that for being different. He knew the man was just frustrated and wanted the results faster then he could actually manage to get them. 

"Just try something else. I'm sure... I'm sure it will be alright." Tove smiled at him despite feeling almost sick to the stomach because of what Bain said. The Markis didn't seem to cacth it as he went to take a deep breath and tried to calm down a bit. As he did Bain turned his attention back to the water to attempt another try.

Bain seemed to think pretty hardly and after a short amount of time he raised his hand again and mumbled an ancient troll word. Tove was a bit impressed that the Markis knew the ancient language and could recall the word 'focus'. Not a lot of trolls knew the forgotten language as they tend to speak normal, human languages nowadays. But it is commonly known that the connection trolls have with the ancient language is so special that it can actually help them like magic words if used right.

Bain seemed to reach his goals and the water started boiling much faster than Bain's previous trick. The lake just started boiling out of nowhere and the steam suddenly became more like a thick fog. As this fog grew Tove wished that Bain succeeded this time and didn't lose his focus. He couldn't stand seeing the Markis that dissapointed again. But as he rooted he noticed Bain had moved a small amount of boiling liquid out of the lake and placed in his hands but not touching his skin with it. Tove was mesmerized by the woobly drop of water which kept boiling in the man's hand and suddenly, without any sign, it turned into an ice block and as the Markis grabbed it the water in the lake stopped boiling immediately.

"That is amazing!" Tove was really enthusiastic about the Markis' achievement which made Bain laugh out loud and he dismissed the fog as well. He rolled the ice all around his palms and it never melted just as he wanted it to be. He cracked a smile of pure joy and turned to Tove.

"Thank you. I think I need some more practice but I think I could manage without your assistance. You must have more important things to do as the future King. And... I apologize for calling you a freak. I was just... Frustrated and didn't really..."

"I know and it's not a big deal. But I accept your apology. Now, I think..."

Tove really didn't want to go. He was enjoying Bain's company. It was not a lot. They nearly talked to each other because it was all about focusing but he really wanted to stay. Because they would probably talk more as now Bain was prepared for anything. He just wished Bain would say it instead of him. 

"I... I think we need to practice a bit of battling and it is not perfect yet. I'll stay."

Bain grinned at him and accepted his offer. It was a silent agreement that none of them talked about Tove's real reason to stay. It was certainly not for ice and moving water. It was for the man who made him sure that sitting on his cape will not hurt anyone. It was for the unnecessary closeness of the two on the said cape while the two shared their thoughts on the world while pretending to practice with occasional water splashing and sudden fogginess. It was for the way Bain looked at the Prince when the young boy adored the Markis' water creations. It was for them to escape the painful reality that was waiting for them at the end of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I came with another chapter! Oh, my laptop broke... So Idk about how I will upload but I will! Also I'm going on holiday I am super excited.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! This is my first fanfic written in English so excuse me if I mess up sometimes. I have this fanfiction (with the same title and everything) on Wattpad so if you prefer that site feel free to read it there. I started this fanfiction while I was spending my exchange year in New Zealand and I got the book from my host mum for Christmas. I fell in love with Tove so I thought I would give him a bit recognition. But that's for now. I hope you liked it.


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